Cytotoxic effects of one-step self-etching adhesives on an odontoblast cell line

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of one-step self-etching adhesives. Cells from an immortalized mouse odontoblast cell line (MDPC-23) were cultured with six different dental adhesive systems (diluted to concentrations of 0.5% for 4 h): Adper Easy Bond (EB), Xeno V (XV), iBond (IB), AdheSE One (AO), Clearfil SE primer (CS), and Adper Single Bond 2 (SB). MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and flow cytometric apoptosis assays were used to evaluate cell viability and the rate of apoptosis. The odontoblasts were also examined under a scanning electron microscope. While all of the cultures with adhesives showed reduced viability, the viabilities in the IB and SB groups were not significantly different from the control group. Although increased apoptosis rates were observed in all of the cultures with adhesives, the rate in the SB group was not significantly different from the rate in the control. The control group showed the lowest apoptosis rate followed by the SB, AO, IB, EB, XV, and CS groups. When examined under a scanning electron microscope, control odontoblasts and the SB group exhibited relatively large cytoplasmic extensions. In contrast, in the EB and CS groups, fewer fibroblasts remained adhered to the plate surface. Cytoplasmic membrane shrinkage and cell-free areas with residual membrane fragments from dead cells were observed. In conclusion, all cultures with one-step self-etching adhesives showed increased apoptotic activity. SB, an etch-and-rinse adhesive, was comparable to the control group, and CS and EB showed the lowest odontoblast viabilities according to the MTT assay.