Objective: To investigate the osteoblast-like functional characteristics exhibited by human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) under mechanical force.
Methods: Human PDLCs cultured in vitro were stretched by mechanical force. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to measure the expression of secreting alkaline phosphotase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN). The non-secreting ALP, OCN and osteopontin (OPN) in cells were determined by immunohistochemistry.
Results: It exhibited increasing of ALP secreted into conditional media, and in the 24 hour period there were two peaks which appeared at the 2nd and 4th hour and the 24th hour (P < 0.01). While in the late of the 24 hours, expression of OCN in conditional media increased (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Mechanical force induces hPDLCs to differentiate into functional osteoblast-like cells and plays a role in bone remodeling.