JOURNAL OF PERIODONTOLOGY, cilt.81, sa.11, ss.1663-1674, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-7 is a potent bone-inducing factor and was shown to promote periodontal regeneration in vivo and in vitro; however, to our knowledge, the specific effect of BMP-7 on cementoblasts has not been defined. We aimed to investigate the effects of BMP-7 on cementoblasts, which are cells responsible for tooth root-cementum formation. We hypothesized that BMP-7 would regulate mineralized tissue-associated genes in cementoblasts and influence the expression profile of genes associated with cementoblast extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell adhesion molecules (CAMs).