ISSN:
1600-0765
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Objectives: Cyclosporin A (CsA), an immunosuppressive agent, induces fibrous gingival overgrowth through reduction of collagen phagocytosis by fibroblasts. Distinct receptors are involved in the binding of collagen to fibroblasts in collagen phagocytosis, and α2β1 integrin serves as a specific receptor for type I collagen on fibroblasts. To elucidate the role of α2β1 integrin in CsA-induced gingival overgrowth, we investigated collagen phagocytosis and α2β1 integrin expression in rat gingival fibroblasts.Materials and methods: Fibroblats were isolated from gingiva of rats fed a powdered diet containing or lacking CsA for 30 d. Flow cytometric analysis were performed to measure the collagen phagocytosis and the α2 integrin expression in fibroblasts. Furthermore, total RNAs were isolated from fibroblasts, and the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was employed to investigate the mRNA levels of α2 integrin.Results: In vitro collagen phagocytosis assay revealed that CsA-treated and control fibroblasts contained a mean of 13.5% and 36.1% phagocytic cells, respectively. CsA-treated fibroblasts had 28% lower expression of α2 integrin than that of control. and mRNA expression of α2 integrin in CsA-treated fibroblasts was apparently lower than in the controls, but the mRNA expression of β1 integrin was not affected.Conclusion: These findings suggest that one etiological factor of gingival overgrowth may be inhibition of collagen phagocytosis by reducing α2 integrin expression in gingival fibroblasts.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0765.2003.00692.x
Permalink
