Activation of matrix-bound endogenous proteases by self-etch adhesives

The study evaluated changes in total enzymatic activity and degradation of demineralized dentin following the application of universal or self-etch adhesives. The universal adhesives -Scotchbond Universal (SU) and All-Bond Universal (ABU) and self-etch adhesives -Adper Easy Bond (EB) and G-aenial Bond (GB) were used for 2 min pretreatment of the dentin beams. Phosphoric acid (PA) treatment as well as no treatment served as controls. Total enzymatic activity was analyzed before and after treatment, collagen degradation was assessed using mass loss, C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) and C-terminal-telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) release (24 h, 3-day, 3-week). Over three weeks of incubation, ICTP release of ABU treated beams was significantly higher than other groups (p<0.05), except for SU treated beams (p>0.05) and CTX release of GB treated beams was the highest among the groups with statistically significant difference (p<0.05). The results confirm that the universal adhesives tested have also potential to increase the enzymatic activity in dentin.