RESUMO
During orthodontic tooth movement, bone resorption occurs at the compression site. However, the mechanism underlying resorption remains unclear. Applying compressive force to human osteoblast-like cells grown in a 3D collagen gel, we examined gene induction by using microarray and RT-PCR analysis. Among 43 genes exhibiting significant changes, cyclo-oxygenase-2, ornithine decarboxylase, and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) were up-regulated, whereas membrane-bound interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein was down-regulated. The MMP-3 protein increases were further confirmed by Western blot. To ascertain whether MMP-3 is up-regulated in vivo by orthodontic force, we examined human bone samples at the compressive site by realigning the angulated molars. Immunohistochemical staining revealed MMP-3 distributed along the compressive site of the bony region within 3 days of compression. Since MMP-3 participates in degradation of a wide range of extracellular matrix molecules, we propose that MMP-3 plays an important role in bone resorption during orthodontic tooth movement.