Mechanical induction of interleukin-11 regulates osteoblastic/cementoblastic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem/progenitor cells.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The periodontal ligament (PDL) is continually exposed to mechanical loading caused by mastication or occlusion. Physiological loading is thus considered a key regulator of PDL tissue homeostasis; however, it remains unclear how this occurs. We recently reported that an appropriate magnitude of mechanical stretch can maintain PDL tissue homeostasis via the renin-angiotensin system. In the present study, we investigated the expression of interleukin-11 (IL-11) in human primary PDL cells (HPDLCs) exposed to stretch loading, the contribution of angiotensin II (Ang II) to this event and the effects of IL-11 on osteoblastic/cementoblastic differentiation of human PDL progenitor cells (cell line 1-17). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Human primary PDL cells, derived from human tissues, with or without antagonists against the Ang II receptors AT1 or AT2, were subjected to cyclical stretch loading with 8% elongation for 1 h. Expression of IL-11 was measured by ELISA in these cultures and by immunohistochemistry in the sectioned maxillae of rats. The osteoblastic/cementoblastic potential of cell line 1-17 was determined using cell proliferation, gene expression and Alizarin Red staining. RESULTS: Positive staining for IL-11 was observed in the PDL of rat maxillae and in cultures of HPDLCs. In HPDLCs exposed to stretch, expression of the IL11 gene and the IL-11 protein were up-regulated, concomitant with an increase in Ang II and via AT2. Recombinant human IL-11 (rhIL-11) stimulated an increase in expression of mRNA for the cementoblast-specific marker, CP-23, and for the osteoblastic markers, osteopontin and bone sialoprotein, and promoted proliferation in cell line 1-17. In addition, rhIL-11 also increased the degree of mineralized nodule formation in cell line 1-17 cultures treated with CaCl2 . CONCLUSION: Mechanical loading appears to control proliferation and osteoblastic/cementoblastic differentiation of human PDL stem/progenitor cells through the regulation of Ang II and AT2 by IL-11.

Effect of aquatic weeds on methane emission from submerged paddy soil.

Paddy fields are one of the dominant anthropogenic sources of methane emission to the atmosphere, and the main passageway of methane from paddy soil is through the rice plant. However, the effect of aquatic weeds on methane emission from rice paddies has not been properly evaluated yet. Methane emission from weeded pots and unweeded ones with anaerobic paddy soil was measured throughout the period of rice growth. More than double the amount of methane was emitted from weeded pots compared with unweeded ones. Peroxidase activity of rice root was not different between weeded and unweeded pots. However, methanogenic bacteria populations were higher in weeded pots than in unweeded ones, while methane oxidation activity, measured by the propylene oxidation technique, was higher in unweeded pots than in weeded ones. Methane oxidation activity of roots from three typical aquatic weeds in paddy fields, Lipocarpha sp., Rotala indica, and Ludwigia epilobioides, was higher than that of rice plants, while lower stems of these aquatic plants showed similar or lower activity compared with the same areas of rice plants. These results indicate that the role of aquatic weeds in paddy soil in methane emission should not be overlooked in evaluating mitigation options for reducing methane emission from paddy fields.