Acemannan sponges stimulate alveolar bone, cementum and periodontal ligament regeneration in a canine class II furcation defect model.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Periodontal disease is a common infectious disease, found worldwide, causing the destruction of the periodontium. The periodontium is a complex structure composed of both soft and hard tissues, thus an agent applied to regenerate the periodontium must be able to stimulate periodontal ligament, cementum and alveolar bone regeneration. Recent studies demonstrated that acemannan, a polysaccharide extracted from Aloe vera gel, stimulated both soft and hard tissue healing. This study investigated effect of acemannan as a bioactive molecule and scaffold for periodontal tissue regeneration.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Primary human periodontal ligament cells were treated with acemannan in vitro. New DNA synthesis, expression of growth/differentiation factor 5 and runt-related transcription factor 2, expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein-2 and type I collagen, alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineralized nodule formation were determined using [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay, biochemical assay and alizarin red staining, respectively. In our in vivo study, premolar class II furcation defects were made in four mongrel dogs. Acemannan sponges were applied into the defects. Untreated defects were used as a negative control group. The amount of new bone, cementum and periodontal ligament formation were evaluated 30 and 60 d after the operation.

RESULTS: Acemannan significantly increased periodontal ligament cell proliferation, upregulation of growth/differentiation factor 5, runt-related transcription factor 2, vascular endothelial growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein 2, type I collagen and alkaline phosphatase activity, and mineral deposition as compared with the untreated control group in vitro. Moreover, acemannan significantly accelerated new alveolar bone, cementum and periodontal ligament formation in class II furcation defects.

CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that acemannan could be a candidate biomolecule for periodontal tissue regeneration.