Gene expression is the most fundamental level at which the
genotype gives rise to phenotype. The development of human salivary
exosomes has become one of the promising researches to improve cell-based
tissue engineering but their functions in human periodontal ligament fibroblast
(HPdLF) cells are not well studied. To study the effect of human salivary
derived exosomes on the gene expression of HPdLF cells. In vitro, HPdLF
cells were cultured for 24 hours with 10 µg/ml of human salivary exosomes.
Determination of gene expression levels of basic fibroblast growth factor
(bFGF) and collagen type I (COL1) in the presence and absence of human
salivary exosomes in HPdLF culture was performed using quantitative reverse
transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Human salivary
exosomes significantly upregulated bFGF gene expression but not COL1
gene in HPdLF cells after 24 hours of culture. Human salivary exosomes are
able to upregulate bFGF gene in HPdLF cells. Thus, they might have potential
to be used as an alternative biomaterial in tissue engineering for periodontal
regeneration.