Copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity in healthy and inflamed human dental pulp.
OBJECTIVE
To examine copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu, Zn-SOD) activity in clinically healthy and symptomatic human dental pulps.


METHODS
Twenty-five systemically healthy patients, 14 females and 11 males (age: 13.1-34.6 years; mean: 21.7 +/- 6.3), were the source of the pulp tissue. The condition of the pulps was assessed using clinical and radiographic evaluation. The pulp tissue was collected by longitudinally grooving and splitting the teeth (if extracted) or during endodontic treatment, and were age- and sex-matched between the healthy and the irreversible symptomatic pulpitis tissue groups. Cu, Zn-SOD activity was determined through spectrophotometric methods and a Mann-Whitney test assessed the significance of differences between the groups.


RESULTS
The enzyme activities were 144.8 +/- 42.2 and 68.1 +/- 25.0 U mg(-1) in the healthy and irreversible symptomatic pulp tissue, respectively. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate a potential role for Cu, Zn-SOD during dental pulp inflammation in humans.
Varvara
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School of Dentistry, Department of Oral Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio, Via dei Vestini, Chieti, Italy.
Traini
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Esposito
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Caputi
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Perinetti
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011671:Pulpitis / Q000201:enzymology*; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism*
D013482:Superoxide Dismutase