Three-Dimensional Culture of Human Periodontal Ligament Cells on Highly Porous Polyglycolic Acid Scaffolds in vitro

Periodontal tissue engineering represents a possible approach to regenerate the human periodontal ligament (PDL) around dental implants. The aim of this study was to observe the morphological and biological property of the human periodontal ligament cells that were three-dimensional (3D) cultured onto PGA scaffolds in vitro. The human periodontal ligament cells were seeded and cultured onto PGA 3D scaffolds, and then the cellular morphology and structure, adhesion and biocompatibility with scaffolds were evaluated by light microscope and scanning electronic microscope, and the cellular type I collagen synthesis was observed by method of immunohistochemical staining with anti-type I collagen antibody. The results indicated that the human periodontal ligament cells adhere to scaffolds well and exhibit the excellent matrix secretion ability under light microscope and scanning electronic microscope, type I collagen was expressed positively in cell-scaffolds complex by immunohistochemical staining. These results suggested that delivery of PDL cells via non-woven PGA mesh may serve as a viable approach for promoting periodontal tissue regeneration and provides a possibility of PDL regeneration on dental implants