[Studies on the relation between glucose metabolism and c-AMP formation in dental pulps in the presence of inflammatory chemical mediators in vitro].

The relationship between glucose metabolism and cyclic-AMP production in dental pulp in the presence of chemical mediators was investigated in vitro. It is generally accepted that oxidation of glucose-6-14C is indicative of metabolism by the glycolytic pathway whereas that of glucose-1-14C occurs by the hexose monophosphate shunt. The 14CO2 productions from both routes were compared in dental pulp from cattle and rats in the presence of each of several chemical mediators: bradykinin (1.7-3.3 micrograms/ml), prostaglandin E1 (0.3 micrograms/ml), prostaglandin E2 (0.3 micrograms/ml), histamine (33 micrograms/ml), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (33 micrograms/ml). The effects of dental filling materials on glucose oxidation, and cyclic-AMP production by chemical mediators in pulp tissues were also investigated. The results obtained were as follows: 1) Glucose oxidation in dental pulp was stimulated by chemical mediators generally by way of the Embden-Meyerhof Parnas pathway, and was further stimulated by the medium containing bradykinin. However, it was depressed in the presence of higher concentrations of chemical mediators, especially depressed in the HMS pathway. 2) The oxidation ratio of glucose-1-14C to glucose-6-14C (G1/G6) in dental pulp was 4 to 8 in the cattle and 0.6 in the rat, showing clear differences in glucose oxidation between the two animals. 3) Moreover, glucose oxidation in rat dental pulp was 60 to 80 times higher in the EMP pathway and 5 to 10 times higher in the HMS pathway than those in the cattle. 4) Dental filling materials such as silicate cement, zinc phosphate cement, calcium hydroxide, and eugenol cement severely depressed glucose-6-14C oxidation in bovine dental pulp when used at high concentrations, but not at low concentrations. 5) The chemical mediators tested in this experiment (PGE1, PGE2, histamine, 5-HT, bradykinin, and substance P) stimulated cyclic AMP production in rat dental pulp. The production was highest with PGE1 and PGE2. The cyclic AMP production was further stimulated by addition of histamine or 5-HT to the medium containing PGE1 or PGE2.