A new study from Silvio Duailibi and colleagues at UNIFESP (Brazil) has assessed the osteoinductive effect of dexamethasone (DEX) administered as a preoperative medication in primary cell culture of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs).

During tooth extraction for third molar cell culture, preoperative medication might be used to reduce trauma and pain. DEX is a long-acting steroid used as an anti-inflammatory administered around 1 hour prior to surgery. Furthermore, DEX is known to induce osteoblast differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and osteogenic development, and is used in culture media.

Commenting on the aims of the study, the authors noted: "it is important to know whether this drug, when orally administered, will produce the same osteoinductive effect as when it is added directly to culture media. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the osteoinductive effect of DEX when administered as a preoperative medication in primary cell culture of dental pulp."

Their results, available open access in Future Science OA, demonstrated an effect of DEX on hDPSCs, resulting in cell differentiation within 14 days in culture. This preliminary research highlights the need to fully understand the effect of DEX in cell culture following surgery, and indeed to expand similar research to other drugs.

Osteoinductive effects of preoperative dexamethasone in human dental pulp stem cells primary culture
Rani da Cunha Moretti, Monica Talarico Duailibi, Paulo Oliveira Martins, Jennifer Adriane dos Santos, Silvio Eduardo Duailibi
Future Science OA, FSO184 doi:10.4155/fsoa-2016-0083 (2017).