Effect of high-lipid environment on human gingival fibroblast on titanium surface: An in-vitro study

Hyperlipidemia is associated with dental peri-implantitis. Long-term success of dental implant relies on good peri-implant soft tissue barrier. This study aims to investigate the effect of high-lipid environment on biological activities of gingival fibroblast on titanium surface so as to explore the effect of hyperlipidemia on peri-implant soft tissue.

Human gingival fibroblast-1(HGF-1) was seeded on the titanium surfaces and cultured in normal and high-lipid culture medium for 4 days. Cell adhesion and proliferation were assessed by cell counting and morphological observation following fluorescent staining. RNA sequencing were performed afterwards, followed by differentially expressed genes analysis, several enrichment analyses and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) analysis.

The number of HGF-1 cells significantly decreased and the morphology of HGF-1 changed in high-lipid culture environment. Moreover, the expression levels of several hub genes, including Interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), and Activating Transcription Factor 3 (ATF3), as well as the activity of pathways such as the IL-17 signaling pathway and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling pathway, were elevated. Meanwhile, the down-regulation of cell proliferation activities, like DNA replication and cell division was also observed.

High-lipid environment impaired the adhesion and proliferation of HGF-1 on titanium surface, which may be associated with the upregulation of specific genes and pathways, alongside the downregulation of cell proliferation-related activities.