Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells Facilitate Alveolar Bone Remodeling in Periodontitis Rats During Orthodontic Tooth Movement Through STAT3/β-Catenin

We aimed to explore the performance of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in modulating signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/beta-catenin to facilitate alveolar bone remodeling in periodontitis rats in the process of orthodontic tooth movement. Flow cytometry was employed to identify BMSCs isolated, and then their osteogenic capacity was examined by alizarin red staining assay. BMSCs group (n=10), periodontitis + orthodontic tooth movement (PO+OTM) group (n=10), BMSCs+Static group (n=10) and negative control (NC) group (n=10) were set up for random allocation of 40 rats. The PO+OTM group had significantly decreased bone mineral density (BMD), trabecular number (Tb.N), bone volume/total volume (BV/ TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) ratio in alveolar bone tissues, but increased receptor activator of nuclear factor-KB ligand protein expression, trabecular space (Tb.Sp), cement-enamel junction to alveolar bone crest, and osteoclast count in comparison to those of the NC group (P<0.05). In contrast with the PO+OTM group, the BMSCs group had significantly increased BMD, Tb.N, BV/TV, Tb.Th, p-STAT3/STAT3 ratio, and protein expressions of beta-catenin and osteoprotegerin, but decreased Tb.Sp (P<0.05). For periodontitis rats, BMSCs can promote osteogenic differentiation to facilitate alveolar bone remodeling in the process of orthodontic tooth movement.