VARIABILITY OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATOR PRODUCTION BY HUMAN PERIODONTAL FIBROBLASTS STIMULATED WITH BACTERIAL LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE

摘要

Periodontal disease refers to a wide range of inflammatory conditions of the periodontium, ranging from early gingivitis to chronic periodontitis (bone loss), and represents the major cause of edentul-ism (6). The fibroblast is considered an importantcellular component in periodontitis because it is the predominant cell type in periodontal connective tissue. In the periodontitis lesion, fibroblasts are likely to encounter bacterial virulence factors, including lipopolysacchar-ide (LPS) from the periodontopathic bacterium, Porphyromonas gin-givalis (11). Fibroblast responses to LPS certain cytokines, or both include increased production of inflammatory mediators of alveolar bone resorption, notably prostaglandin E2 (PGE_2) (10), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) (3), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (12), which are considered crucial to the development and progression of periodontitis (7,11). Two periodontal tissue compartments are important sources of fibroblasts, the gingival connective tissue and the periodontal ligament (PDL); and reports of oral fibroblast PGE_2 and cytokine production has hitherto focused on cells derived from these sources. Although, recent research suggests that gingival fibroblasts (GF) and PDL fibroblasts (PDLF) are phenotypically heterogeneous in their response to various stimuli and that subtypes likely exist within both populations (4,16), the majority of research utilizes cells derived either from an unstated number of subjects or from one or two subjects whose cells are pooled(1,5,8-9,13-14,16-17,19). In this study we examine the variability of inflammatory mediator production by GF and PDLF of three consecutively sampled human subjects.