Mechanism of Endotoxin Inhibition of Human Gingival Fibroblast Attachment to Type I Collagen

Bacterial endotoxin inhibits the attachment of human gingival fibroblasts to collagen. The present study attempted to elucidate the possible mechanism of this inhibition. Two mechanisms were considered: direct toxicity to the cells and steric interference. Collagen substrates were prepared by rat type I collagen being air-dried in the wells of 24 multi-well plates. Experimental collagen substrates were treated with 50 μg of endotoxin/well, while untreated collagen substrates served as controls. Two mL of cell suspension (104 cells/mL) was added to each well, and these were incubated at 37°C for two h. The average cell number/mm2 attached to experimental and control substrates was determined. Cell attachment to endotoxin-treated collagen was inhibited by 78%, compared with that to untreated collagen. The washing of the endotoxin-treated collagen for two h did not affect the inhibition of cell attachment, whereas after 24 h of washing, cell attachment was inhibited by 54%, compared with that to untreated collagen. Pre-incubation of the cells in endotoxin for two h did not affect their attachment to collagen. The addition of fetal calf serum (15%) to the experimental system completely reversed the inhibition of fibroblast attachment to endotoxin-treated collagen. These findings suggest that endotoxin interferes with fibroblast attachment to collagen through a steric phenomenon, possibly by blocking the binding sites on the collagen molecule recognized by the membrane receptor for collagen.