Isolation of a fibroblast attachment protein from cementum

Cementum forms the interface through which soft connective tissue of the periodontium is attached to the root surface. The interactions between cementum and connective tissue are not completely understood and whether cementum influences periodontal connective tissue formation and regeneration is not clear. We have examined the effect of cementum components on the attachment of gingival fibroblasts. Cementum was harvested from healthy human and bovine teeth and extracted sequentially in 0.5 M CH3COOH, 4 M guanidine and bacterial collagenase. Fibroblast attachment was measured using 51Cr-labelled human gingival fibroblasts on tissue culture plates previously incubated with cementum components. Results showed that all three extracts mediated fibroblast attachment and attachment was dependent on concentration and incubation time. The attachment activity was not destroyed by digestion with bacterial collagenase or by antibodies to fibronectin and laminin. However, it was inhibited by a peptide containing the amino acid sequence RGD. By gel filtration or HPLC using a DEAE-cellulose column several proteins with attachment activity were fractionated. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that HPLC fraction eluted by 0.2-0.3 M NaCl contained a protein with molecular weight 55 kDa as a major component. This protein was isolated and shown to promote fibroblast attachment, and optimal attachment occurred at a concentration of 2 micrograms/ml. We conclude that cementum contains substances capable of mediating fibroblast attachment and that these substances play an important role in periodontal connective tissue formation and regeneration by facilitating fibroblast attachment to root surfaces.