Journal of Dental Research, Vol 77, 406-411, Copyright © 1998 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
"In vitro" dissolution of coral in peritoneal or fibroblast cell cultures
J. C. Fricain, R. Bareille, F. Rouais, B. Basse-Cathalinat and B. Dupuy
INSERM-U443-146, Universite de Bordeaux II, France.
Previous studies have shown that in vivo coral resorption involves a
biphasic process: First, the edges of the coral block become powdery, then
extracellular fluid and phagocytosis contribute to the dissolution of the
crystals. The authors examined some types of cells that could be involved
in phagocytosis, particularly the ability of both dermal fibroblasts and
mouse-resident peritoneal cells to phagocytose and dissolve coral powder
"in vitro". Radioactive coral was incubated for 24, 48, or 72 hrs with
cells in the presence or absence of cytochalasin B (a phagocytic inhibitor)
or chloroquine (a lysosomotropic agent). Furthermore, to specify the role
of crystal cell contacts in the solubilization process, they incubated
radioactive coral in conditioned media (obtained from two-day human
fibroblastic or macrophagic cell culture in the presence or absence of
non-radioactive coral) or at a distance from the cells using culture
inserts. Measurements of the radioactivity in the different supernatants
were performed. Transmission electron microscopy was carried out on the
cells cultivated in the presence or absence of radioactive coral. The data
suggest that both fibroblasts and macrophages dissolve the coral, and that
the intracellular degradation in phagolysosomes is one of the mechanisms
explaining coral powder dissolution.
