International Medical Journal Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 325 - 327 , June 2014 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS Bovine Pericardium Membrane and Periodontal Guided Tissue Regeneration: A SEM Study Yousaf Athar, Siti Lailatul Akmar Zainuddin, Zurairah Berahim, Akram Hassan, Aamina Sagheer, Mohammad Khursheed Alam ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this study is to establish bovine pericardium membrane as a suitable barrier material for peri- odontal guided tissue. Study Design: This study is designed to investigate the in-vitro interaction between bovine pericardium membrane and pri- mary cells for periodontal regeneration, human periodontal ligament fibroblasts. Methods: Bovine pericardium membrane was seeded with HPDLFs and the attachment was studied using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at 4, 8 and 12 hours. Results: HPDLFs gained attachment to the bovine pericardium membrane within 4-8 hours exhibiting a transition from round to flattened shape along with the production of definitive cytoplasmic processes. Conclusion: The tests were able to put fourth evidence in favor of a healthy interaction between bovine pericardium mem- brane and periodontal ligament fibroblasts. KEY WORDS bovine pericardium membrane, periodontal ligament fibroblasts, guided tissue regeneration Received on January 21, 2013 and accepted on May 4, 2013 School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia Correspondence to: Yousaf Athar (e-mail: dryousafathar@gmail.com) 325 INTRODUCTION Periodontium is a complex organ comprising of epithelial, soft and mineralized tissues. The regeneration of the periodontal complex is an intricate process requiring coordinated responses from gingival connec- tive tissue, periodontal ligament, cementum and bone. Conventional periodontal therapy fails to restore complete form and function mainly due to apical migration of epithelial component between the root and gingival forming a scar tissue. Fibroblasts represent the bulk of cell population in the periodontal ligament (Berkovitz and Shore, 1995; Beertsen et al., 1997), and pos- sess the remarkable capability to produce and digest matrix components. Periodontal ligament fibroblasts are believed to be one of the principal cells involved in periodontal regeneration (Melcher et al ., 1986; McCulloch et al., 1987; Magnusson et al., 1990; Beertsen et al., 1997), as well as alveolar bone remodeling, owing to their ability to differenti- ate into fibroblasts (Pitaru et al., 1984; Qwamstro and Page, 1986) and osteoblasts (Roberts et al., 1982). Regeneration of a functional peri- odontium can be observed if periodontal ligament cells are allowed to come into contact with the root surface (Melcher, 1976; Boyko et al., 1981; Egelberg, 1987; Hassan et al., 2013). Periodontal ligament fibro- blasts are also suggested to possess alkaline phosphatase activity and the ability to induce calcification. These cells are motile and contractile, a property which helps in structural organization of periodontal liga- ment (Ten Cate, 1989). Substantial research has been conducted on human periodontal ligament fibroblast cells, to investigate the regenera- tive potential of these cells (van Dijk et al., 1993; Dogan et al., 2002; 2003; Akizuki et al., 2005). Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) employs a barrier material between tissues with differential rate of regeneration, thus allowing each tissue, time and space to regain its former form and function. Periodontal GTR aims to prevent apical epithelial migration and pro- mote coronal proliferation of regenerative periodontal cells, hence allowing slow growing hard tissues more time and space to regenerate. Amongst these cells, human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPDLFs) are believed to be one major source of regenerative potential and main- tenance for periodontal tissues (Dogan et al., 2002, 2003). Several properties play an important role in selection of a suitable tissue barrier for guided tissue regeneration which includes biocompati- bility, biodegradation, immunogenicity and the ability to attract and activate periodontal ligament fibroblast cells (Aurer and Jorgic, 2005). A diverse assortment of organic and synthetic materials has been tested for their ability to serve as a GTR material with varying degrees of suc- cess. Bovine pericardium membrane (BPM) has been able to serve as a graft material in various medical disciplines such as cardiology (Ionescue, 1977), general surgery (Connolly et al., 1989), pulmunology (Gloria, 1996), neurology (Baharuddin et al., 2002), ophthalmology (Gupta et al., 2004), orthopedics (Rossouw et al., 2005), owing to its bio-compatibility with the host tissues. Our study was aimed at understanding the potential of lyophilized bovine pericardium providing the necessary scaffold for periodontal lig- ament fibroblast attachment, migration and proliferation. METHODS AND MATERIALS Human Periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPDLF) The cell type selected for this study was commercialized human C 2014 Japan Health Sciences University & Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation