Abstract
In the current studies, we examined the possibility of using HSP70 gene regulation as a cytocompatibility test for dental biomaterials. For this reason, we assessed the effects of three metal salts, HgCl2, CuSO4 and NiCl2 on HSP70 gene expression in HeLa S3 cells using real-time Taqman quantitative PCR. Incubation of the cells for 4h in medium containing HgCl2 (20 or 40μM), CuSO4 (157, 313, 625 or 1250μM) or NiCl2 (5000 and 10000μM) significantly induced HSP70 mRNA. The real-time Taqman quantitative PCR was able to detect HSP70 mRNA induction at 4-fold lower concentrations of HgCl2 and 8-fold lower concentrations of CuSO4 than the Neutral Red cell viability assay. These results indicate that real-time Taqman quantitative PCR, in combination with the monitoring of cell viability, may be a valuable tool for distinguishing between specific HSP70 mRNA induction and cytocompatibility of metals in dental biomaterials.
