In a recent study published in the journal Bioelectrochemistry, iBB/DBE researchers Rúben S. Pires, Mafalda S. Santos, Filipe Miguel, Cláudia Lobato da Silva and João Carlos Silva report the first investigation of electrical stimulation (ES) on human periodontal ligament stem/stromal cells (hPDLSCs), aiming to establish an optimized protocol and assess its effects on cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. ES parameters such as voltage, frequency, waveform, and regimen, were comprehensively studied and optimized. The selected best performance ES protocol supported high cell viability and proliferation without any detrimental effects on the cells’ multilineage differentiation potential and immunophenotype. Long-term ES for 21 days significantly enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium content, while preserving tissue mineralization and the expression of relevant bone extracellular matrix (ECM)-related proteins. Moreover, ES significantly upregulated the expression of periodontal/bone-specific genes.

Overall, this study demonstrates, for the first time, the osteogenic potential of ES on hPDLSCs, providing foundational knowledge for future applications in periodontal tissue engineering, particularly targeting alveolar bone regeneration in the regenerative dentistry field.

This work, developed within the scope of Rúben S. Pires PhD project and led by João Carlos Silva, received financial support from FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the PhD scholarships 2025.02741.BDANA, 2024.01223.BD and 2024.06319.BD, and institutional funds to iBB (UID/04565/2025) and Associate Laboratory i4HB (LA/P/0140/2020). See more.