Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Accessing the Cytotoxicity and Cell Response to Biomaterials
Published on: July 8, 2021
[The ALP activity of cultured dental coronal and root pulp cells in vitro]
Shan-zhen Sun1, Shao-hua Liu, Feng-cai Wei
1Dental School of Shangdong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong Province, China. sshzh@sdu.edu.cn
Purpose:
To compare the ALP activity in human dental coronal and root pulp,and investigate the localization of dental pulp stem cells in the dental pulp.
Methods:
The human dental root and coronal pulp cells were cultured in tissue-explant method, the 5th generation of cells in good growth condition were subcultured with conditioned media (20% DMEM + 10 nmol/L + dexamethaone + 50mg/L ascorbic acid) to induce mineralization. At the days of 5, 10, 15 after inducing, Gomori alkaline phosphatase stain was used to investigate alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in root and coronal pulp cells.
Results:
Positive staining was found in both root and coronal cells, the ALP activity was equal at 5 days of incubation, but higher in root pulp cells than that of coronal pulp cells after 10 and 15 days of incubation.
Conclusions:
ALP activity in dental root pulp is higher than that in coronal pulp. DPSCs may exist in both dental root and coronal pulp, and the density of DPSCs is higher in the root pulp than the coronal pulp.

