Permeability of P. gingivalis or its metabolic products through collagen and dPTFE membranes and their effects on the viability of osteoblast-like cells: an in vitro study

Membrane exposure is a widely reported and relatively common complication in Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) procedures. The introduction of micro-porous dPTFE barriers, which are impervious to bacterial cells, could reduce the technique sensitivity to membrane exposure, even if there are no studies investigating the potential passage of bacterial metabolites through the barrier. Aim of this study was the in vitro evaluation of the permeability of three different GBR membranes (dPTFE, native and cross-linked collagen membranes) to Porphyromonas gingivalis; in those cases, where bacterial penetration could not be observed, another purpose was the analysis of the viability and differentiation capability of an osteosarcoma (U2OS) cell line in presence of bacteria eluate obtained through membrane percolation. A system leading to the percolation of P. gingivalis broth culture through the experimental membranes was arranged to assess the permeability to bacteria after 24 and 72 h of incubation. The obtained solution was then added to U2OS cell cultures which underwent, after 10 days of incubation, MTT and red alizarin essays. The dPTFE membrane showed resistance to bacterial penetration, while both types of collagen membranes were crossed by P. gingivalis after 24 h. The bacteria eluate filtered through dPTFE membrane didn’t show any toxicity on U2OS cells. Results of this study demonstrate that dPTFE membranes can contrast the penetration of both P. gingivalis and its metabolites toxic for osteoblast-like cells. The toxicity analysis was not possible for the collagen membranes, since permeability to bacterial cells was observed within the first period of incubation.