ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the biocompatibility of the osteoblasts from adult human bone marrow with coral-derived hydroxyapatite (CHA) in in vitro culture. METHODS: Bone marrow was obtained from healthy adult subjects and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) containing 10 % fetal bovine serum. The subsequent cell passaging was conducted in conditioned medium containing dexamethasone, beta-sodium glycerophosphate and ascorbic acid, with the osteoblasts in culture then divided into CHA group (in which the cells were cultured with CHA) and osteoblasts group (without CHA). The proliferation and differentiation of all the cultured cells were observed at different time points under inverted phase contrast microscope, optical microscope with HE staining and scanning electron microscope respectively. Proliferation of the cultured cells were evaluated by MTT assay, and the activity of alkaline phosphatase and total micro-protein contents in these cultured osteoblasts were quantitatively detected. RESULTS: The osteoblasts from adult human bone marrow grow well in vitro, regardless of the presence of CHA, with biological and morphological characteristics similar to those of normal osteoblasts. CHA improved the adhesion, growth and proliferation of the cultured cells, showing no adverse effects on the cell functions. CONCLUSION: CHA is an optimal scaffold material for bone tissue engineering, which may potentially find clinical application for bone defect repair.
