Interleukin-1β Regulation of Adhesion Molecules on Human Gingival and Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts

Background: Adhesion molecules have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and may also play a role in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease by promoting the recruitment and retention of leukocytes in gingival tissue. Methods: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) to regulate adhesion molecule expression on clinically healthy human gingival (HGF) and periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts. The HGF (n = 6) and PDL (n = 3) fibroblasts were treated with 1.0 ng/ml of IL-1β for 24 hours and then incubated with primary intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) antibodies followed by FITC-conjugated secondary antibodies. The expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 was measured by immunofluorescence flow cytometry. Results: The levels of ICAM-1 expression in IL-1β treated HGF and PDL fibroblasts were statistically significant (P ≤0.05) compared to normal untreated controls using log-transformed data and 3-way analysis of variance. Both cells expressed VCAM-1 after IL-1β treatment, but the levels were not statistically different from controls. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that IL-1β upregulated ICAM-1 expression in both HGF and PDL fibroblasts. Even though the level of VCAM-1 was not statistically different from both HGF and PDL fibroblasts treated with IL-1β compared to controls, both cells do express the VCAM-1 molecules. These results suggest that ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 might be involved in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.