Periodontal ligament cells are chemotactic to fibroblast collagenase
Proteolytic enzymes, including fibroblast collagenase, play an important role in tissue remodeling. The effects of type I collagen fragments and fibroblast collagenase on periodontal ligament (PDL) cell migration were investigated in this study, using gingival epithelial cells as control cell population. The authors report that PDL cells and not gingival epithelial cells preferentially migrate in a dose-dependent manner to fibroblast collagenase and to type I collagendegradation products. Antibody to type I collagen inhibited the type I collagen- fragment-mediated migration, and collagenase pretreatment of PDL cells enhanced PDL cell migration to type I collagen fragments. The results suggest that collagenase may have a role in the fine control of PDL cell migration in tissue remodeling during periodontal regeneration [J.Y.K.]
Terranova,V.P., and F. Nishimura, J Dent Res, 75:993, 1996