Gene expression of bone-associated cytokines in MG63 osteoblast-like cells incubated with acrylic bone cement extracts in minimum essential medium.

This study examined the effects of in vitro challenge with four polymerized acrylic bone cements (Sulfix-60®, CMW 1®, CMW 2®, and CMW 3®) on the expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) mRNAs in the osteoblastlike cell line MG63. The extracts of the cements in minimal essential medium (MEM) were tested following 1-h and 7-day curing. A semi-quantitative analysis of the cytokine-specific mRNAs was carried out by agarose gel densitometry and expression was compared with the GAPDH house-keeping gene. The ratio between cytokine gene expression and GAPDH expression was calculated. The mRNA specific for the bone-resorbing cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 was low in basal conditions. IL-1β mRNA increased only after incubation with the extract of CMW 1® following 1-h curing. The mRNA specific for the bone-resorbing cytokine IL-6 also increased after contact with CMW 1® at both curing times. Sulfix-60® and CMW 3® following 7-day curing, but not after 1 h, induc...