A Trabecular Bone Explant Model of Osteocyte–Osteoblast Co-Culture for Bone Mechanobiology
- 5 August 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering
- Vol. 2 (3), 405-415
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-009-0075-5
Abstract
The osteocyte network is recognized as the major mechanical sensor in the bone remodeling process, and osteocyte–osteoblast communication acts as an important mediator in the coordination of bone formation and turnover. In this study, we developed a novel 3D trabecular bone explant co-culture model that allows live osteocytes situated in their native extracellular matrix environment to be interconnected with seeded osteoblasts on the bone surface. Using a low-level medium perfusion system, the viability of in situ osteocytes in bone explants was maintained for up to 4 weeks, and functional gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) was successfully established between osteocytes and seeded primary osteoblasts. Using this novel co-culture model, the effects of dynamic deformational loading, GJIC, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release on functional bone adaptation were further investigated. The results showed that dynamical deformational loading can significantly increase the PGE2 release by bone cells, bone formation, and the apparent elastic modulus of bone explants. However, the inhibition of gap junctions or the PGE2 pathway dramatically attenuated the effects of mechanical loading. This 3D trabecular bone explant co-culture model has great potential to fill in the critical gap in knowledge regarding the role of osteocytes as a mechano-sensor and how osteocytes transmit signals to regulate osteoblasts function and skeletal integrity as reflected in its mechanical properties.Keywords
This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Adaptation of Connexin 43-Hemichannel Prostaglandin Release to Mechanical LoadingOnline Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2008
- Ex Vivo Bone Formation in Bovine Trabecular Bone Cultured in a Dynamic 3D Bioreactor Is Enhanced by Compressive Mechanical StrainTissue Engineering, Part A, 2008
- Primary cilia mediate mechanosensing in bone cells by a calcium-independent mechanismProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
- Oscillating fluid flow activation of gap junction hemichannels induces atp release from MLO‐Y4 osteocytesJournal of Cellular Physiology, 2007
- Novel explant model to study mechanotransduction and cell–cell communicationJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 2006
- Vascular Biology and the SkeletonJournal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2006
- Osteocyte Viability and Regulation of Osteoblast Function in a 3D Trabecular Bone Explant Under Dynamic Hydrostatic PressureJournal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2004
- The role of prostaglandins and nitric oxide in the response of bone to mechanical forcesOsteoarthritis and Cartilage, 1999
- What is the role of the convective current density in the real-time calcium response of cultured bone cells to fluid flow?Journal of Biomechanics, 1996
- Pulsating Fluid Flow Increases Prostaglandin Production by Cultured Chicken Osteocytes—A Cytoskeleton-Dependent ProcessBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1996