ARHGAP17 inhibits pathological cyclic strain‐induced apoptosis in human periodontal ligament fibroblasts via Rac1/Cdc42

Abstract Rho GTPase‐activating protein (Rho‐GAP) and Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor (Rho‐ GDI) are two main negative regulators of Rho GTPase. Our previous work has found that Rho‐GDI and Rho GTPase are involved in the response of human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells to mechanical stress. However, whether Rho‐GAP also has a role in this process remains unknown. Here, we attempted to find the Rho‐GAP gene that may be involved in pathological stretch‐induced apoptosis of PDL cells. Human PDL fibroblasts were exposed to 20% cyclic strain for 6 hours or 24 hours, after which the expression levels of ARHGAP10, ARHGAP17, ARHGAP21, ARHGAP24 and ARHGAP28 were determined. Results showed that ARHGAP17 expression decreased the most obviously after treatment of stretch. In addition, ARHGAP17 overexpression abolished 20% cyclic strain‐induced apoptosis. Therefore, ARHGAP17 has an important role in pathological stretch‐induced apoptosis of human PDL fibroblasts. Moreover, we found that ARHGAP17 overexpression also alleviated cyclic strain‐induced activation of Rac1/Cdc42, a major downstream target of ARHGAP17. Furthermore, two Rac1 inhibitors, NSC23766 and EHT 1864, both attenuated ARHGAP17 knockdown‐mediated apoptosis in human PDL fibroblasts. Collectively, our data demonstrate that ARHGAP17 inhibits pathological cyclic strain‐induced apoptosis in human PDL fibroblasts through inactivating Rac1/Cdc42. This study highlights the importance of Rho signalling in the response of human PDL fibroblasts to mechanical stress.