Vitamin A metabolite inhibits proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation in a human periodontal ligament stem cells subpopulation

The periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) are regarded as the promising seed cells for in situ facilitated endogenous periodontal tissue regeneration. Nevertheless the patients with hypervitaminosis A and alcoholism become very difficult to repair periodontal defects and guide bone regeneration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) on the recruitment and osteogenic differentiation in human PDLSCs. The periodontal ligament tissues were obtained from healthy premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons and used to isolate and characterize the hPDLSCs subpopulation. Following various concentrations of ATRA treatment, cell proliferation and migration of hPDLSCs were significantly inhibited, and the cell cycle progression was significantly arrested with the high-dose of ATRA group. Furthermore, with the increase of ATRA concentration, both the early and late stages of osteogenic differentiation were suppressed in hPDLSCs. Our results provide further evidences that excessive ATRA hinders facilitated endogenous periodontal tissue regeneration mediated by hPDLSCs. Published by www.inter-use.com. Available online Dec. 1, 2015, Vol. 4 Iss. 1, Page 1-7.