Regeneration of the cementum and periodontal ligament using local BDNF delivery in class II furcation defects.

Periodontal furcation defects are usually addressed by the placement of a physical barrier which may limit the regenerative potential of periodontal wounds. This study morphometrically quantified the regenerative effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in furcation defects in a non-human primate model. Grade II furcation defects (with and without induced inflammation prior to surgery) were created on the first and second molars of eight non-human primates. Defects were treated with open flap debridement and subsequently filled with either: Group A; BDNF (500 µg mL ) in high-molecular weight-hyaluronic acid (HMW-HA), Group B; BDNF (50 µg mL ) in HMW-HA, Group C; HMW-HA acid only, Group D; unfilled defect, or Group E; BDNF (500 µg mL ) in saline. Periodontal wound healing was observed every 2 weeks by computed-tomography. At 11 weeks all animals were sacrificed and maxillary and mandibular block biopsies were referred for nondecalcified histology. Linear measurements of new cementum (cellular and acellular) and periodontal ligament (PDL) formation were performed. Computerized-tomography reconstruction and software quantification demonstrated successful bone fill for all groups. However, histometric assessment demonstrated significantly higher level of total periodontal regeneration for the 500 µg mL BDNF HMW-HA relative to all other groups. No significant differences in cementogenesis were observed among groups. Significantly higher acellular cementum formation was observed for sites where inflammation was not induced prior to surgical procedures. While all groups experienced similar bone fill and cementogenesis, the 500 µg mL BDNF HMW-HA appeared to most effectively repair PDL (minimum increase of ∼22% relative to all groups; over 200% relative to unfilled defects). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 1611-1617, 2018.