Quantitative analysis of immunoglobulins and inflammatory factors in human pulpal blood from exposed pulps.

The levels of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, and IgM) and inflammatory factors (elastase, prostaglandin E2, interleukin-1 alpha, interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) in the blood of human dental pulp were quantified, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The pulpal blood samples were obtained with nylon fiber pellets from normal and inflamed dental pulp at pulp sites exposed on pulpectomy. Statistically significant differences between normal and inflamed pulp were found in the levels of IgG (p < 0.01), IgA (p < 0.05), IgM (p < 0.01), elastase (p < 0.05), and prostaglandin E2 (p < 0.01). These findings indicate that these factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of pulpal disease, and the sampling methods used in this study are useful for examination of pulpal inflammation.