Objectives:The purpose of the present study was to obtain further insight into the effect of metilprednisolone on human osteoblast-like cells proliferation after 24 and 48 hours and to study the effect of this drug on antigenic phenotype profile of cultured human osteoblast-like cells.
Methods:
Osteoblasts were obtained from samples of human bone sections obtained in the course of third molar surgery. Human osteoblast-like lines were isolated, characterized and cultured with two different concentration of metilprednisolone (10-6M and 10-8M). Osteoblasts proliferation was examined by count of cell number after 24 and 48 hours. Flow cytometer was used to analyze the following molecules: CD10, CD13, CD44, CD54, CD80, CD86 and HLA-DR.
Results:
After 24 and 48 hours the experiments demonstrated a decrease in cell proliferation in cultures incubated with 10-6M and 10-8M concentrations of metilprdnisolone compared with controls (p<0.01 and p<0.0001, respectively). There were no differences in the expression of any antigens between the cells cultured in metilprednisolone and control cells.
Conclusions:
Although many studies had determined that glucocorticoids alter bone proliferation after long periods of treatment, our results suggest that metilprednisolone decreases osteoblasts proliferation in shorter periods of treatment, like 24 and 48 hours, however there isnxt any change in other physiological cell parameters like differentiation and immunological function. It would appear that in oral surgery an alternative anti-inflammatory is preferable where a rapid increase in osteoblast number is important.