Cytokine-induced prostaglandin E2 production and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in dental pulp cells: downstream calcium signalling via activation of prostaglandin EP receptor

Aim To determine whether (i) proinflammatory cytokines stimulate prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and cyclooxygenase (COX) gene expression in dental pulp cells, and (ii) pulp cells that express different prostaglandin E2 receptor (EP) isoforms and their activation by PGE2 leads to downstream Ca2+ signalling. Methodology Cultured human dental pulp cells were exposed to interleukin (IL)‐1β and tumour necrotic factor‐alpha (TNF‐α). The expression of COX‐1 and COX‐2 was measured with reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The production of PGE2 was measured using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Expression of prostaglandin EP receptor isoforms was studied by RT‐PCR, whereas fura‐2 fluorescence was used to measure calcium mobilization. The Kruskal–Wallis test and Wilcoxon sum rank test with Bonferroni correction were used for statistical analysis. Results Interleukin‐1β and TNF‐α stimulate PGE2 production of human dental pulp cells (P