RNA-Seq of Gingival Fibroblasts Grown on Collagen Membranes and Hyaluronic Acid

Collagen membranes are widely used biomaterials in periodontal and implant dentistry and can be combined with hyaluronic acid (HA). Although collagen membranes are expected to exhibit bioactive properties and support fibroblast infiltration, their specific impact on fibroblast behavior remains unclear.

To investigate this, human gingival fibroblasts were seeded on collagen matrices-mucoderm^®, a collagen fleece derived from dermis, and Jason^® membrane derived from pericardium-with or without lyophilized HA. Subsequent bulk RNA sequencing was used to assess transcriptional responses.

Both mucoderm^® and the collagen fleece caused significant transcriptional changes compared with fibroblasts grown on standard tissue culture surfaces and Jason^® membrane. These changes included upregulation of CEMIP, STC1, and TM4SF1, and downregulation of ADM2, PSAT1, and GPR1. Notably, the collagen fleece increased expression of extracellular matrix-related genes including CCN1, CCN2, COL1A1, POSTN, SPARC, TAGLN, FBN2, CCDC80, and CREB3L1 relative to mucoderm^®. Additionally, the expression of proteases MMP3 and MMP10, along with detoxification-related genes MT1E, MT2A, HMOX1, and NQO1, was relatively decreased. HA coating elevated IL24 expression in mucoderm^®, but no similar effect was observed in the collagen fleece.

These findings demonstrate that collagen membranes can influence the transcriptome of gingival fibroblasts and suggest that collagen fleece has a stronger effect on extracellular matrix formation than mucoderm^®. Furthermore, HA coating does not consistently alter fibroblast responses.