Comparison of Osteoblastic Differentiation of Human Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells through Application of Two β-tricalcium Phosphate Products: An in vitro Study

Statement of the Problem: 

Osteoblastic differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PLSCs) is essential for alveolar bone regeneration.

The purpose of this study was to compare the potential of two β-tricalcium phosphate (βTCP) products to induce osteoblastic differentiation of human PLSCs.

In this in vitro study, human PLSCs were cultured in mediums supplemented with Guidor Easy-Graft [βTCP+polylactide-co-glycolide(PLCG)+n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone(NMP)] [Sunstar Company, Swiss] or Sorbone [βTCP] [Meta Company, South Korea] as two alloplasts experimental groups, mesenchymal cells differentiated into osteoblasts without alloplast as positive control group, and mesenchymal cells without osteoblastic induction as negative control group. Osteoblastic differentiation was evaluated using Alizarine Red staining and spectrophotometry to assay calcium deposits and real-time polymerase chain reaction to examine expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteopontin (OPN) antigens on day 21. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 22 software and one-way ANOVA and Bonferoni tests (p< 0.05).

Spectrophotometry confirmed that calcium deposits were higher in Guidor Easy-Graft group compared to Sorbone group (p< 0.001) and higher in two experimental groups than controls (p< 0.05). According to real-time polymerase chain reaction, level of ALP expression was higher in Sorbone than Guidor and the levels of Guidor, positive control and negative control were equal; OPN levels of the positive control were more than the other groups. OPN levels of Sobone, Guidor and negative control were the same.

These findings indicated that Guidor Easy-Graft and Sorbone enhanced differentiation of human PLSCs to osteoblasts, and could be employed as appropriate bone-graft materials.