Abstract
The present study was performed to investigate the effect of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF -ß) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on cell growth, colony formation and collagen synthesis of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLF) and human gingival fibroblasts (HGF). LPS was extracted from P. gingivalis, P. interrnedia and E. coli. We tested the effect of TGF-ß and/or LPS on HPLF cell and HGF cell proliferation in 0.3% soft agar cultures in conjunction with EGF for 14 days. Plates were scored by counting the number of colonies in a 1 cm2 field. Cells were plated at confluence in 6-well multi-dishes, and culture media were replaced with serum free medium containing 14C -proline and TGF-ß and/or LPS . Following this procedure, the culture medium and extracellular matrix were separately collected to determine 14C -proline incorporation . The radio-labeled proteins were analyzed by SDS-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis and visualized fluorographically. Colony formation and collagen synthesis in HPLF cells and HGF cells were stimulated by TGF-ß, but not LPS. While cell growth was not influenced by TGF-fi and LPS at same concentration. However, LPS did inhibit the colony formation and collagen synthesis stimulated by TGF-ß.
