Mechano-regulation of collagen biosynthesis in periodontal ligament

Scaffold-Free Fabrication of Osteoinductive Cellular Constructs Using Mouse Gingiva-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Three-dimensional (3D) cell constructs are expected to provide osteoinductive materials to develop cell-based therapies for bone regeneration. The proliferation and spontaneous aggregation capability of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) thus prompted us to fabricate a scaffold-free iPSC construct as a transplantation vehicle. Embryoid bodies of mouse gingival fibroblast-derived iPSCs (GF-iPSCs) were seeded in a cell chamber with a round-bottom well made of a thermoresponsive hydrogel. Collected ball-like cell constructs were cultured in osteogenic induction medium for 30 days with gentle shaking, resulting in significant upregulation of osteogenic marker genes. The constructs consisted of an inner region of unstructured cell mass and an outer osseous tissue region that was surrounded by osteoblast progenitor-like cells. The outer osseous tissue was robustly calcified with elemental calcium and phosphorous as well as hydroxyapatite. Subcutaneous transplantation of the GF-iPSC constructs into immunodeficient mice contributed to extensive ectopic bone formation surrounded by teratoma tissue. These results suggest that mouse GF-iPSCs could facilitate the fabrication of osteoinductive scaffold-free 3D cell constructs, in which the calcified regions and surrounding osteoblasts may function as scaffolds and drivers of osteoinduction, respectively. With incorporation of technologies to inhibit teratoma formation, this system could provide a promising strategy for bone regenerative therapies.

Controlled Osteogenic Differentiation of Mouse Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Tetracycline-Controlled Transcriptional Activation of Amelogenin

Regenerative dental therapies for bone tissues rely on efficient targeting of endogenous and transplanted mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to guide bone formation. Amelogenin is the primary component of Emdogain, which is used to regenerate periodontal defects; however, the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects on alveolar bone remain unclear. The tetracycline (Tet)-dependent transcriptional regulatory system is a good candidate to investigate distinct roles of genes of interest during stem cell differentiation. Here, we investigated amelogenin-dependent regulation of osteogenesis in MSCs by establishing a Tet-controlled transcriptional activation system. Clonal mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs were lentivirally transduced with the Tet repressor (TetR) expression vector followed by drug selection to obtain MSCs constitutively expressing TetR (MSCs-TetR). Expression vectors that contained the Tet operator and amelogenin-coding (Amelx) cDNA fragments were constructed using the Gateway system and lentivirally introduced into MSCs-TetR to generate a Tet regulation system in MSCs (MSCs-TetR/Amelx). MSCs-TetR/Amelx significantly overexpressed the Amelx gene and protein in the presence of the tetracycline derivative doxycycline. Concomitant expression of osterix, bone sialoprotein (BSP), osteopontin, and osteocalcin was modulated by addition or removal of doxycycline under osteogenic guidance. During osteogenic induction, MSCs-TetR/Amelx treated with doxycycline showed significantly increased gene expression of osterix, type I collagen, BSP, and osteocalcin in addition to increased alkaline phosphatase activity and mineralized nodule formation. Enhanced extracellular matrix calcification was observed when forced Amelx expression commenced at the early stage but not at the intermediate or late stages of osteogenesis. These results suggest that a Tet-controlled Amelx gene regulation system for mouse MSCs was successfully established, in which transcriptional activation of Amelx was associated with enhanced osteogenic differentiation, especially in the early stage of biomineralization.

Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein may enhance osteoclastogenesis in periodontal disease

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP) has been found to be expressed in periodontal ligament (PDL), a layer of soft connective tissue between tooth root and alveolar bone, and involved in immunoreaction. This study was performed to explore the potential role of FDC-SP in periodontal disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) were stimulated with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and FDC-SP expression was examined by real-time PCR and western blot. Then this molecule was overexpressed or silenced in hPDLCs by transfection of FDC-SP expression plasmids or its small-interfering (si) RNA, respectively, and the effects of FDC-SP on expression of osteogenesis- and osteoclastogenesis-related genes in hPDLCs were analyzed by real-time PCR and western blot.

RESULTS

Our results showed that P. gingivalis LPS upregulated FDC-SP expression in hPDLCs. Overexpression of FDC-SP could decrease the expression of osteogenesis-related genes, increase the expression of osteoclastogenesis-related genes and RANKL/OPG ratio in hPDLCs. Meanwhile, silence of FDC-SP expression in hPDLCs remarkably inversed the above results.

CONCLUSIONS

LPS-induced upregulation of FDC-SP expression in hPDLCs may enhance osteoclastogenesis in periodontal disease.

Bone Aging by Advanced Glycation End Products

The quality and quantity of mandibular bone are essential prerequisites for osseointegrated implants. Only the Hounsfield unit on preoperative computed tomography is currently used as a clinical index. Nevertheless, a considerable mismatch occurs between bone quality and the Hounsfield unit. Loss of bone toughness during aging has been accepted based on empirical evidence, but this concept is unlikely evidence based at the level of mechanical properties. Nonenzymatic bone matrix cross-links associated with advanced glycation end products predominate as a consequence of aging. Thus, loss of tissue integrity could diminish the bone toughening mechanism. Here, we demonstrate an impaired bone toughening mechanism caused by mimicking aging in rabbits on a methionine-rich diet, which enabled an enhanced nonenzymatically cross-linked bone matrix. A 3-point bending test revealed a greater reduction in femoral fracture resistance in rabbits on a methionine-rich diet, despite higher maximum and normalized breaking forces (287.3 N and 88.1%, respectively), than in rabbits on a normal diet (262.2 N and 79.7%, respectively). In situ nanoindentation on mandibular cortical bone obtained from rabbits on a methionine-rich diet did not enable strain rate–dependent stiffening and consequent large-dimensional recovery during rapid loading following constant displacement after a rapid-load indentation test as compared with those in rabbits on a normal diet. Such nanoscale structure-function relationships dictate resistance to cracking propagation at the material level and allow for the overall bone toughening mechanism to operate under large external stressors. The strain-dependent stiffening was likely associated with strain-energy transfer to the superior cross-linked bone matrix network of the normal diet, while the reduction in the enzymatically cross-linked matrix in bone samples from rabbits on a methionine-rich diet likely diminished the intrinsic bone toughening mechanism. The present study also provides a precise protocol for evaluating bone mechanical properties at the material level based on observations from a series of nanoindentation experiments.