Co-culture with periodontal ligament stem cells enhances osteogenic gene expression in de-differentiated fat cells

In recent decades, de-differentiated fat cells (DFAT cells) have emerged in regenerative medicine because of their trans-differentiation capability and the fact that their characteristics are similar to bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Even so, there is no evidence to support the osteogenic induction using DFAT cells in periodontal regeneration and also the co-culture system. Consequently, this study sought to evaluate the DFAT cells co-culture with periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) in vitro in terms of gene expression by comparing runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPAR gamma 2) genes. We isolated DFAT cells from mature adipocytes and compared proliferation with PDLSCs. After co-culture with PDLSCs, we analyzed transcriptional activity implying by DNA methylation in all adipogenic gene promoters using combined bisulfite restriction analysis. We compared gene expression in RUNX2 gene with the PPAR gamma 2 gene using quantitative RT-PCR. After being sub-cultured, DFAT cells demonstrated morphology similar to fibroblast-like cells. At the same time, PDLSCs established all stem cell characteristics. Interestingly, the co-culture system attenuated proliferation while enhancing osteogenic gene expression in RUNX2 gene. Using the co-culture system, DFAT cells could trans-differentiate into osteogenic lineage enhancing, but conversely, their adipogenic characteristic diminished. Therefore, DFAT cells and the co-culture system might be a novel cell-based therapy for promoting osteogenic differentiation in periodontal regeneration.