ABSTRACT
Abstract: The abnormal increase in proliferation rate of human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) is considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of periodontitis, a disease in which the IL-10-mediated anti-inflammatory pathway plays a critical role. This study aimed to investigate the involvement of microRNA-466l in periodontitis and to explore the possible interaction between IL-10 and microRNA-466l. PDLSCs were obtained from periodontitis-affected teeth and healthy control teeth. The expression of microRNA-466l and IL-10 mRNA was measured in PDLSCs using RT-qPCR. The proliferation ability of PDLSCs was analyzed using CCK-8 assays. Overexpression of microRNA-466l in a PDLSC cell line was established using two different types of PDLSCs, and the effect of microRNA-466l overexpression on IL-10 expression and cell proliferation were detected by western blot and CCK-8 assays, respectively. We found that expression levels of microRNA-466l and IL-10 mRNA were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in PDLSCs derived from periodontitis-affected teeth compared to those derived from healthy teeth. However, the cell proliferation ability was significantly higher in the PDLSCs derived from periodontitis-affected teeth. Meanwhile microRNA-466l overexpression decreased cell proliferation rates of both types of PDLSCs and upregulated IL-10 expression. Together, these data suggest that microRNA-466l can upregulate IL-10 and reduce the proliferation rate of PDLSCs.