Cell-mediated immune response to dog pulp tissue altered by Grossman's formula sealer via the root canal

Pulp tissue from three experimental dogs was tested for its antigenicity before and after incubation with Grossman's formula sealer (GS). Cellmediated skin-test reactions showed an increased response to pulp that had been incubated in Grossman's formula sealer, washed, and then injected as compared with pulp or GS alone. In vitro analysis of cell-mediated immune response (lymphocyte proliferation) showed a marked increase when pulp tissue was incubated in GS and washed as compared to saline-treated pulp. Comparing the saline-incubated pulp to the GS-altered pulp revealed that the increase in radioactivity was statistically significant at p less than 0.0001. Therefore, Grossman's formula sealer altered dog pulp tissue and rendered it antigenically active, and a specific cell-mediated lymphocyte response was produced.