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Osteoprotegerin (OPG) Production by Cells in the Osteoblast Lineage is Regulated by Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields in Cultures Grown on Calcium Phosphate Substrates

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Abstract

Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) used clinically to stimulate bone formation enhance the osteogenic effects of BMP-2 on human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) if the MSCs are grown in osteogenic medium and are cultured on calcium phosphate (CaP) surfaces rather than tissue culture polystyrene plastic (TCPS). This study tested if PEMF’s effects on cells in the osteoblast lineage are substrate dependent and if factors produced by osteoblasts that regulate osteoclastic bone resorption, might also be regulated by PEMF. Human MSCs treated with BMP-2 and human osteoblast-like cells (normal human osteoblasts [NHOst cells], MG63 cells, SaOS-2 cells) were cultured on CaP or TCPS and their response to PEMF (4.5 ms bursts of 20 pulses repeating at 15 Hz for 8 h/day) determined as a function of decoy receptor osteoprotegerin (OPG) and RANK ligand (RANKL) production, both of which are associated with regulation of osteoclast differentiation. The results showed that when osteoblast-like cells were cultured on CaP, PEMF decreased cell number and increased production of paracrine factors associated with reduced bone resorption like OPG. RANKL was unaffected, indicating that the OPG/RANKL ratio was increased, further supporting a surface-dependent osteogenic effect of PEMF. Moreover, effects of estrogen were surface dependent and enhanced by PEMF, demonstrating that PEMF can modulate osteogenic responses to anabolic regulators of osteoblast function. These effects of PEMF would not be evident in models examining cells in traditional culture on plastic.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by Biomet Trauma (Parsippany, NJ). Biomet provided the Helmholtz coils used in this study. Dr. Bruce Simon was Director of Research for Biomet Trauma at the time the study was conducted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 315 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0363, USA

    Zvi Schwartz, Maya Fisher & Barbara D. Boyan

  2. Hebrew University-Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel

    Zvi Schwartz

  3. University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Christoph H. Lohmann

  4. Biomet, Inc., Parsippany, NY, USA

    Bruce J. Simon

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  1. Zvi Schwartz
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  2. Maya Fisher
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Correspondence to Barbara D. Boyan.

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Schwartz, Z., Fisher, M., Lohmann, C.H. et al. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) Production by Cells in the Osteoblast Lineage is Regulated by Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields in Cultures Grown on Calcium Phosphate Substrates. Ann Biomed Eng 37, 437–444 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-008-9628-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-008-9628-3

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