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There were few studies investigating the effects of the mechanical stimulation provided by daily low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) treatment. LIPUS is known to accelerate bone mineralization and regeneration; however, the precise cellular mechanism is unclear. Our purpose was to determine how daily LIPUS treatment affected cell viability, alkaline phosphatase activity, osteogenesis-related gene expression, and mineralized nodule formation in osteoblasts. The typical osteoblastic cell line ROS 17/2.8 cells were cultured in the absence or presence of LIPUS stimulation. Daily LIPUS treatments (1.5 MHz; 20 min) were administered at an intensity of 30 mW/cm 2 for 14 days.Expression of osteogenesis-related genes was examined at mRNA levels using real-time polymerase chain reaction and at protein levels using western blotting analysis. LIPUS stimulation did not affect the rate of cell viability. Alkaline phosphatase activity was increased after 10 days of culture with daily LIPUS stimulation. LIPUS significantly increased the expression of mRNAs encoding Runx2, Msx2, Dlx5, osterix, bone sialoprotein, and bone morphogenetic protein-2, whereas it significantly reduced the expression of mRNA encoding the transcription factor AJ18. Mineralized nodule formation was markedly increased on Day 14 of LIPUS stimulation. LIPUS stimulation directly affected osteogenic cells, leading to mineralized nodule formation. LIPUS is likely to have a fundamental influence on key functional activities of osteoblasts in alveolar bone.

Although daily low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) can accelerate osteogenic differentiation of the rat clonal cell line ROS 17/2.8, the molecular mechanism that underlies this phenomenon is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine which molecules exposed to daily LIPUS treatment stimulate osteogenic differentiation. The cells were cultured in the presence and absence (control) of LIPUS stimulation. LIPUS treatments consisted of 1.5-MHz ultrasound administered at an intensity of 30 mW/cm(2), 20 min daily for 7 days. The expression of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and their receptors involved in osteogenesis were measured using real-time PCR and/or Western blot analysis. Phosphorylation of the mothers against decapentaplegic 1 (Smad1) protein was determined by Western blotting. Daily LIPUS treatment significantly increased the expression of BMP-2, -4, and -7 and their receptors, and also phosphorylation of Smad1. Noggin markedly inhibited the daily LIPUS-induced phosphorylation of Smad1. Our findings demonstrate that the osteogenic activity of daily LIPUS may be mediated by BMPs in ROS 17/2.8 cells.

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