Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the main etiologies and risk factors for periodontal disease, and is an important concern in periodontal medicine. It has been reported that high glucose concentrations mediate proliferation, differentiation and production of inflammatory cytokines on mesenchymal cells, but there are few reports on periodontal regenerative therapy in type II DM patients. The aim of this study was to examine the biological effects of high glucose conditions on GK rat (type II model) bone marrow mesenchymal cells (GK rat BMMSC). Cell culture experiments were performed with GK rat BMMSC. The effects of glucose at four concentrations (5.5, 8, 12 and 24 mM) were determined by examining cell proliferation, differentiation and production of inflammatory cytokines; the latter three concentrations are higher than the normal physiological glucose concentration, represented by 5.5 mM. High concentrations of glucose promoted proliferation and inhibited hard tissue differentiation and calcification of GK rat BMMSC. Differentiation correlated inversely with the expression of inflammatory cytokines, represented by IL-6. Our data suggest that high extracellular glucose concentrations promote proliferation and inhibit hard tissue differentiation and calcification in periodontal regeneration by causing an inflammatory response dependent on cytokines including IL-6.