Periodontal disease is the main reason for tooth loss in adults. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are advanced technologies used to manage soft and hard tissue defects caused by periodontal disease. We developed a transforming growth factor-β3/chitosan sponge (TGF-β3/CS) to repair periodontal soft and hard tissue defects. We investigated the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation behaviors of primary human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) to determine the bioactivity and potential application of TGF-β3 in periodontal disease. We employed calcein-AM/propidium iodide (PI) double labeling or cell membranes (CM)-Dil labeling coupled with fluorescence microscopy to trace the survival and function of cells after implantation in vitro and in vivo. The mineralization of osteogenically differentiated hPDLSCs was confirmed by measuring alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium content. The levels of COL I, ALP, TGF-βRI, TGF-βRII, and Pp38/t-p38 were assessed by western blotting to explore the mechanism of bone repair prompted by TGF-β3. When hPDLSCs were implanted with various concentrations of TGF-β3/CS (62.5-500 ng/mL), ALP activity was the highest in the TGF-β3 (250 ng/mL) group after 7 d (p < 0.05 vs. control). The calcium content in each group was increased significantly after 21 and 28 d (p < 0.001 vs. control). The optimal result was achieved by the TGF-β3 (500 ng/mL) group. These results showed that TGF-β3/CS promotes osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs, which may involve the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. TGF-β3/CS has the potential for application in the repair of incomplete alveolar bone defects.
Keywords: chitosan sponge; human periodontal ligament cells; osteogenic differentiation; transforming growth factor-β3.