Abstract:

Objective　To establish human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPDLFs) that express bone morphogenetic protein 2 and observe their osteogenesisin vivo, so as to provide fundamental data for future study on gene therapy of periodontal defect treatment.Methods　The phagemid expression vector for BMP-2 (pBK-B2) was transfected intoHPDLFs by usingLipofect AMINE. The BMP-2 expressionwas determined by immunohistochemical ABCmethod. The BMP-2 gene transfectedHPDLFswere injected into thigh muscle of nude mice under sterile condition. Specimenswere collected in 21 days after injection and underwent normal procedures forfixation, decalcification, embedding, incising and stainingwithHE.Results　The results demonstrated that BMP-2 protein expressed in HPDLFs after BMP-2 gene transfection. The HPDLFs transfected with BMP-2 gene could induce new bone formation at the injection site.Conclusion　The results indicated that BMP-2 gene was transfected successfully and ex- pressed efficiently in HPDLFs. The HPDLFs transfected with BMP-2 gene are capable of inducing new bone formationin vivo.

Key words: bone morphogenetic protein, human periodontal ligament fibroblasts, gene transfection, induction, osteogenesis