Effect of a titanium surface on bone marrow-derived osteoblastic cells in vitro

Abstract The initial interaction between a titanium implant and the surrounding cancellous bone tissue was investigated by means of in vitro cultures of bone marrow-derived osteoblastic clone TMS-12 cells. Proliferation of TMS-12 cells cultured on a titanium surface was significantly reduced compared with that of control cells cultured directly on plastic, but alkaline phosphatase activity was the same as control cells. Co-culture of spleen cells with TMS-12 cells in the presence of a 1α,25-dihydroxyvitaminD 3 on titanium resulted in significant inhibition of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity compared to control cultures on plastic. More prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) was produced by cells grown on a titanium surface than on plastic tissue-culture plates. On the other hand, mouse calvaria-derived osteogenic MC3T3-E1 cells, known to proliferate well on titanium, released similar amounts of PGE 2 on titanium surfaces as on plastic tissue culture plates, indicating additional marked differences between the two osteoblastic cell types in response to a titanium surface. These results suggest that the reaction of bone marrow-derived osteoblastic cells to a titanium surface may fundamentally differ from that of calvaria-derived osteoblastics even though both cells are from bone tissue.