Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, Vol 8, 217-236, Copyright © 1997 by International & American Associations for Dental Research
Factors affecting IL-1-mediated collagen metabolism by fibroblasts and the pathogenesis of periodontal disease: a review of the literature
A. Havemose-Poulsen and P. Holmstrup
Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Fibroblasts have been studied extensively for their contribution to
connective tissue destruction in diseases where the metabolism of
extracellular matrix components plays an essential part in their
pathogenesis. A considerable dissolution, especially of collagen fibrils,
is a well-known characteristic of the periodontal ligament and the gingival
connective tissue in microbial-induced periodontal disease. Fibroblasts,
responsible for the assembly of the extracellular matrix, are capable of
responding directly to oral microbial challenges or indirectly, following
activation of the host immune response, and can alter the composition of
connective tissue in several ways: synthesis of inflammatory mediators,
their receptors and antagonists; fibroblast proliferation; collagen
synthesis; phagocytosis of collagen fibrils; and synthesis of proteolytic
enzymes, including matrix metalloproteinases and their corresponding
inhibitors. The contributions of these cellular fibroblastic properties to
the pathogenesis of periodontal disease are reviewed in the context of the
cytokine, interleukin-1, as the inflammatory regulator.
