Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible biological mechanism of dental fluorosis at a molecular level.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cultured LS8 were incubated with serum-free medium containing selected concentrations of NaF (0???2?mM) for either 24 or 48?h. Subcellular microanatomy was characterized using TEM; meanwhile, selected biomolecules were analysed using various biochemistry techniques. Transient transfection was used to modulate a molecular pathway for apoptosis.

RESULTS: Apoptosis of LS8 was induced by NaF treatment that showed both time and concentration dependency. The activity of caspase-3, -8, -9 was found to be increased with NaF in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot revealed that the protein expression of p-ERK and p-JNK were decreased, while the expression of p-P38 was increased. Inhibition of the p-ERK and p-JNK pathways resulted in a similar decrease for caspase-3.

CONCLUSION: During NaF-induced apoptosis of LS8, p-ERK and p-JNK were closely associated with induction of apoptosis, which might be a mechanism of dental fluorosis.

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