Osteogenesis differentiation of human periodontal ligament cells by CO2 laser-treatment stimulating macrophages via BMP2 signalling pathway

Immune reactions play an important role in determining the biostimulation of bone formation, either in new bone formation or inflammatory fibrous tissue encapsulation. Macrophage cell, the important effector cells in the immune reaction, which are indispensable for osteogenesis and their heterogeneity and plasticity, render macrophages a primer target for immune system modulation. However, there are very few studies about the effects of macrophage cells on laser treatment-regulated osteogenesis. In this study, we used CO2 laser as a model biostimulation to investigate the role of macrophage cells on the CO2 laser stimulated osteogenesis. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) was also significantly up regulated by the CO2 laser stimulation, indicating that macrophage may participate in the CO2 laser stimulated osteogenesis. Interestingly, when laser treatment macrophage-conditioned medium were applied to human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLs), the osteogenesis differentiation of hPDLs was significantly enhanced, indicating the important role of macrophages in CO2 laser-induced osteogenesis. These findings provided valuable insights into the mechanism of CO2 laser-stimulated osteogenic differentiation, and a strategy to optimize the evaluation system for the in vitro osteogenesis capacity of laser treatment.