Periodontal ligament cells from patients with treated stable periodontitis: Characterization and osteogenic differentiation potential

Abstract Background and Objective Periodontal ligament progenitor cells (PDL cells) isolated from patients with inflammatory periodontitis have impaired regenerative capacity, but it is unknown whether this capacity can be recovered upon treatment and stabilization of the periodontal condition. The study aimed to investigate the expression of surface markers and the proliferation and osteogenic potential of PDL cells isolated from patients with treated stable periodontitis (S‐PDL cells), periodontally healthy individuals (H‐PDL cells), and patients with inflammatory periodontitis (I‐PDL cells). Methods H‐PDL, I‐PDL, and S‐PDL cells were isolated from the extracted teeth of individuals who (1) were periodontally healthy, (2) had inflammatory periodontitis, and (3) had treated stable periodontitis, respectively. The expression levels of surface markers and the proliferative and osteogenic capacities of the PDL cells were assessed. Results PDL cells derived from all three sources exhibited mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) characteristics. They were positive for MSC‐related markers and negative for a hematopoiesis‐related marker. However, S‐PDL cells had higher proliferation rates, higher expression levels of osteogenic markers, higher alkaline phosphatase activity, and more calcium nodules than I‐PDL cells. But all of these parameters remained lower in S‐PDL cells than in H‐PDL cells. Conclusions S‐PDL cells proliferated faster and had greater osteogenic potential than I‐PDL cells, although these values remained lower than those in H‐PDL cells.