Comparative gene expression analysis of the human dental pulp in deciduous and permanent teeth

Human deciduous and permanent teeth exhibit different developmental processes, morphologies, histological characteristics and life cycles. In addition their pulp tissues react differently to external stimuli, such as the pulp sensitivity test, dental trauma and pulp therapy materials. These differences are attributable to their genetic backgrounds. Therefore the purpose of this study is to compare the differences of dental pulp in deciduous and permanent teeth. Pulp samples were obtained from permanent premolars (n=6, aged 11-14 years) and deciduous teeth (n=6, aged 11-14 years). Comparative cDNA microarrary analysis revealed several differences in gene expression between the deciduous and permanent pulp tissues. Each GSM record represents a pulp sample pooled from two teeth samples.