The human periodontal ligament (hPDL) is a highly specialized connective tissue located between the tooth root and alveolar bone. Once the hPDL is severely damaged by periodontal disease, its regeneration is known to be difficult. 1) hPDL cells can serve as an in vitro model to determine the effects of growth factors implicated in periodontal repair or regeneration. Cell migration generally plays roles in tissue formation and wound healing as tissue repair takes place following an injury, which involves the processes of inflammation, new tissue formation, and scar formation.2,3) The migration of hPDL cells is also a critical function in the initiation of periodontal wound healing. 2,4) Transforming growth factor b1 (TGF-b1) is a multifunctional peptide that regulates various cellular activities, including proliferation, differentiation, and expression of extracellular matrix proteins.5) TGF-b1 is a potent modulator of tissue repair in various tissues. It was reported that TGF-b1 alone or in combination with other growth factors accelerates various phases of wound healing.6,7) TGF-b1 may also play an important role in the modulation of tissue formation and development of the periodontium.8) The addition of TGF-b1 to gingival and periodontal ligament fibroblast cell cultures was shown to enhance RNA and protein synthesis.
9)Heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) acts as ATP-independent molecular chaperone.10) In addition to its chaperone function, Hsp27 also seems to be an important regulator of structural integrity and membrane stability, actin polymerization and intermediate filament cytoskeleton formation, cell migration, epithelial cell-cell adhesion, cell cycle progression, proinflammatory gene expression, signal transduction pathways, mRNA stabilization, differentiation, and apoptosis.11,12) Previous results strongly suggested that phosphorylated Hsp27 was critically involved in the migration process, possibly through the association with signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK).13) Cell migration is regulated by various signaling pathway including the b1 integrin, Akt, extracellular signalregulated kinase (ERK) and nuclear factor-kappaB-dependent pathways through TGF-b1 in human cancer cells.14,15) In our previous study, we confirmed that TGF-b1-induced Hsp27 activation promotes the migration of mouse dental papilla-derived MDPC-23 cells.16) Dentinal healing and repair are the result of successive and interrelated processes that include proliferation, chemotaxis, and differentiation of dental pulp cells into odontoblasts, leading to reparative dentin formation. 17) However, the underlying mechanism of TGF-b1 responsible for regulating hPDL cell migration has not been fully elucidated. Because hPDL cells are responsible for tissue regeneration and mineralized tissue matrix formation, and cell migration are critical processes in tissue regeneration, it is valuable to clarify the precise mechanism of the cell migration of hPDL cells. In this study, we therefore investig...