Dental implant surface treatments may modulate cytokine secretion in Porphyromonas gingivalis-stimulated human gingival fibroblasts: A comparative study

Peri-implantitis is an inflammation that affects dental implants and can lead to implant loss. The aim of this study was to analyze the in vitro effect of different implant surface treatments on cytokine production by human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) stimulated or not with Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (PgLPS). Six different titanium implants were tested: turned, sandblasted, anodized, acid-etched, TiO2-blasted/acid-etched, and grit-blasted/acid-etched. HGFs were seeded with each implant in a 6-well plate and assayed before LPS treatment (−LPS) or after 36 h of LPS (+LPS) treatment. Protein concentrations were measured using a Pierce bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay and cytokine secretions were analyzed using a multiplex cytokine array. Scanning electron microscopy was performed for sterile implants and after cell attachment. Protein levels were consistent across all implants indicating that cell growth was uniform (p > 0.05). Sandblasted and turned surfaces significantly increased the secretion of interleukin (IL)−6, −8, −10, MCP-1 and VEGF (p < 0.05) when compared with the other surfaces. PgLPS stimulus increased cytokine secretion in all tested surfaces. In conclusion, different implant surfaces had various effects on HGFs' cytokine secretion. The findings may provide insights into the progression of peri-implantitis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103A: 1131–1140, 2015.