Periodontal ligament cell (PDL cell)

Periodontal ligament cells (PDL cells) are a heterogeneous population of cells residing between the cementum covering the tooth root and the alveolar bone in the periodontal ligament space. These include fibroblasts, progenitor/stem cells, cementoblasts, and osteoblast-like cells. PDL cells exhibit mesenchymal stem cell properties, enabling them to differentiate into multiple tissue-specific lineages (such as osteoblasts, cementoblasts, and fibroblasts). Their principal biological functions include maintaining tooth attachment, enabling tissue homeostasis, contributing to periodontal regeneration, preventing pathological bone resorption and tooth ankylosis, and modulating inflammatory responses to stimuli such as bacterial infection or mechanical stress. PDL cells are not a druggable molecular target (such as a receptor or enzyme) but rather a functionally critical cell type in periodontal tissue health and disease.

Other names

Periodontal ligament fibroblastPeriodontal ligament stem cellPDLCPDL fibroblast