Effects of a novel calcium aluminate cement on the early events of the progression of osteogenic cell cultures

the present study evaluated the progression of osteogenic cell cultures exposed to a novel calcium aluminate cement (cac+) in comparison with the gold standard mineral trioxide aggregate (mta). cells were enzimatically isolated from newborn rat calvarial bone, plated on glass coverslips containing either cac+ or a control mta samples in the center, and grown under standard osteogenic conditions. over the 10-day culture period, roundening of sample edges was clearly noticed only for mta group. although both cements supported osteogenic cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation, cac+-exposed cultures showed significantly higher values in terms of total cell number at days 3 and 7, and total protein content and alkaline phosphatase activity at day 10. the present in vitro results indicate that the exposure to cac+ supports a higher differentiation of osteogenic cells compared with the ones exposed to mta. further experimental studies should consider cac+ as a potential alternative to mta when the repair of mineralized tissues is one of the desired outcomes in endodontic therapy.