Journal of Dental Research, Vol 75, 1585-1589, Copyright © 1996 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals

ARTICLES

Immunohistochemical localization of HLA-DR-positive cells in unerupted and erupted normal and carious human teeth

N. Yoshiba, K. Yoshiba, H. Nakamura, M. Iwaku and H. Ozawa
Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodonitics, Niigata University School of Dentistry, Japan.

Class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen-expressing cells are generally associated with the early phase of the immune response. We have studied the distribution of class II-expressing cells in developing, normal, and carious human teeth to clarify when human pulp acquires an immunologic defense potential and how this reacts to dental caries. Antigen-expressing cells were identified immunohistochemically by means of HLA-DR monoclonal antibody. In the pulp of unerupted developing teeth, numerous HLA-DR-positive cells were distributed mainly in and around the odontoblast layer. In erupted teeth, HLA-DR-positive cells were located, for the most part, just beneath the odontoblast layer, with slender cytoplasmic processes extending into the layer. Superficial caries lesions caused an aggregation of HLA-DR-positive cells in dental pulp corresponding to the lesion. In teeth with deeper caries lesions, this aggregation of cells expanded to include the odontoblast layer. Also noted were HLA-DR-positive cells lying along the pulp-dentin border, with cytoplasmic processes projecting deep into the dentinal tubules, where they co-localized with odontoblast processes. These findings suggest that: (1) human dental pulp is equipped with immunologic defense potential prior to eruption; (2) in the initial stage of caries infection, an immunoresponse mediated by class-II-expressing cells is initiated in human dental pulp; and (3) HLA-DR-positive cells trespass deep into dentinal tubules as the caries lesion advances.

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