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Updated: May 26, 2026

Spectrophotometric Screening for Potential Inhibitors of Cytosolic Glutathione S-Transferases
Published on: October 10, 2020
Intracellular glutathione: a main factor in TEGDMA-induced cytotoxicity?
Caroline Alberici Martins1, Gabriele Leyhausen, Werner Geurtsen
1Department of Conservative/Preventive Dentistry and Periodontology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Objective:
To evaluate whether the reduction/prevention of triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA)-induced decrease of intracellular glutathione (GSH) protects human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLF) against cell death.
Methods:
HPLF were preincubated for 30 min with exogenous GSH and then treated with TEGDMA (2.5 mM) with/without GSH (0.5-2.5-5 mM) for the following incubation exposure types: 6h (GI); 6h followed by 18 h recovery time in presence (GII) or absence (GIII) of exogenous GSH; 24 h without recovery time (GIV). TEGDMA-cytotoxicity and intracellular glutathione were assessed by Hoechst 33342 and monobromobimane (MBBr) assays. Data were statistically analyzed with Bonferroni ANOVA (p<0.05).
Results:
Preincubation with exogenous GSH increased the intracellular GSH-concentration. TEGDMA was cytotoxic at all treatment times except at 6h (GI) (94±7% of control). In GII the treatment with TEGDMA alone (59±7%) showed no different results to cultures exposed to TEGDMA and GSH. Exogenous GSH had no effect on the TEGDMA-induced cytotoxicity also in the GIII and GIV. Thus, a combined incubation with GSH did not prevent the cytotoxicity of TEGDMA, despite of a significant increase of intracellular GSH-concentration in the presence of exogenously supplied GSH.
Significance:
The glutathione-decreasing effect of TEGDMA is not the major cause of TEGDMA-induced cytotoxicity, indicating more complex mechanisms, which are causative for TEGDMA-cytotoxicity in HPLF.
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