The Effects of Grape Seed Oligomeric Proanthocyanidin and Nisin on Dental Pulp Stem Cells

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the biological effects of “proanthocyanidin” (PA), and “nisin” (Ni), on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and LPS-induced DPSCs as well as their antimicrobial effects against S. Aureus and E. coli. Materials and methods: After characterization of DPSCs, cytotoxicity of PA and Ni on DPSCs were evaluated using a water-soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1). The cytokines and chemokines released by DPSCs and the expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF alpha were detected with human Cytokine Array C5 and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The antibacterial activities of PA and Ni were tested using the drop plate method. Results: PA at 75 μg/ml increased cell viability, decreased TNF-α expression of DPSCs, did not show any cytotoxic effects on LPS-induced DPSCs, and also showed a tendency to decrease TNF-α expression. PA at 75 μg/ml exhibited higher expressions of TIMP-2, OPG, IL-7, and IL-8 in LPS-induced DPSCs compared to DPSCs. Ni at 100 μg/ml decreased TNF-α expression in DPSCs with no cytotoxic effects. It provided increased cell viability and a downregulation trend of TNF-α expression in LPS-induced DPSCs. Both Ni and PA provided strong antibacterial effects against S. aureus. Ni at 200μg/ml had strong antibacterial effects against E. coli without affecting negatively the viability of both DPSCs and LPS-induced DPSCs and showed anti-inflammatory activity by decreasing TNF-α expression. PA provided strong antibac-terial effects against E. coli at 200 μg/ml but affected DPSCs viability negatively. Conclusion: PA and Ni at specific concentrations exhibited immunomodulatory activity on DPSCs and LPS-induced DPSCs without any cytotoxic effects and strong antibacterial effects on S. aureus.