Previous studies have shown that mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells undergo apoptosis when exposed to a mixture of proinflammatory cytokines. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)s are important regulators of osteoblast differentiation. Because regulation of osteoblastic differentiation is poorly understood, we sought to determine if BMP-4-induced differentiation of osteoblastic cells depends on the ...

Wear particles are phagocytosed by macrophages and other inflammatory cells, resulting in cellular activation and release of proinflammatory factors, which cause periprosthetic osteolysis and subsequent aseptic loosening, the most common causes of total joint arthroplasty failure. During this pathological process, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) plays an important role in wear-particle-indu...

BACKGROUND Inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) has been found to have an important role in biomineralization. METHODS Because the complete mechanism of action of IP6 on osteoblasts is not fully understood and its potential use in the primary prevention of osteoporosis, we examined the direct effect of IP6 on cell viability and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells and on differentiation of human umbi...

The hypoxic environment around the fracture site develops post the blood flow disruption and leads to osteoblast cell death and further impairs fracture healing. Hypoxia usually leads to the mitochondrial dysfunction and then results in apoptotic cell death. AMPK is ubiquitously expressed and functions as an intracellular fuel sensor by maintaining energy balance, as is potentially activated by...

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in apoptosis and autophagy of mouse osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells, as well as the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis. Mouse osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), rapamycin, 3-methyl adenine (3-MA) and TNF-α either alone or in combination, respectively. MTT as...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important in osteoporosis development. Oxidative stress induces apoptosis of osteoblasts and arrest of their differentiation. Both Danshensu (DSS) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) produce significant antioxidant effect in various systems. In this study, we synthesized SDSS, a novel H2S-releasing compound derived from DSS, and studied its antioxidant effect in an H2O2...

Bone degradation is a serious complication of chronic inflammatory diseases such as septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and infected orthopedic implant failure. Effective therapeutic treatments for bacteria-caused bone destruction are limited. In a previous study, we found that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced osteoblast apoptosis and inhibited early and late-stage differentiation of osteoblasts v...

Investigations into the role of hypoxia have concentrated on hypoxic damage to cells and the associated adaptative mechanisms, however, the effects of hypoxia on cell proliferation and differentiation have received less attention. The present study aimed to investigate the role of hypoxia on the proliferation of MC3T3‑E1 cells and examine the molecular mechanism involved. Cells treated with low...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Mechanical loading plays an important role in the regulation of bone mass. However, bone cells are not always under physiological stress. In some cases, bone tissue is subjected to an overloaded mechanical environment. For example, a person who is weight training and a stevedore often experience bone pain, inflammation and other bone fatigue damage symptoms. Icariin is the major...

The purpose of this study was to establish an acid-etching procedure for altering the Ca/P ratio of the nanostructured surface of hydroxyapatite (HAP) by using surface chemical and morphological analyses (XPS, XRD, SEM, surface roughness, and wettability) and to evaluate the in vitro response of osteoblast-like cells (MC3T3-E1 cells) to the modified surfaces. This study utilized HAP and HAP tre...