Vascular endothelial growth factor expression in cultured periosteal-derived cells

The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during osteoblastic differentiation of cultured human periosteal-derived cells. Periosteal tissues were obtained from mandible during surgical extraction of lower impacted third molars. Periosteal-derived cells were introduced into cell culture. After passage 3, the periosteal-derived cells were further cultured for 42 days in an osteogenic-inductive culture medium containing dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, and beta-glycerophosphate. The alkaline phosphatase activity in the cultured periosteal-derived cells increased rapidly up to day 14, followed by decrease in activity. The Runx2 protein was expressed at day 7 and day 14, and its expression was not observed thereafter. Both VEGF(165) and VEGF(121) were expressed strongly at days 35 and 42 of culture, particularly during the later stages of differentiation. Alizarin red S-positive nodules were first observed on day 14 and then increased in number during the entire culture period. Osteocalcin and VEGF were first detected in the culture medium on day 14, and their levels increased thereafter in a time-dependent manner. These results suggest that VEGF secretion from cultured human periosteal-derived cells increases along with the mineralization process of the extracellular matrix.