Abstract
It has been demonstrated that pulsing electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) have osteogenic action in vitro and in vivo. It has also been shown that PEMFs stimulated mRNA expression of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 and -4 in chick embryonic calvaria. However, the effects of PEMFs on the gene expression of other BMPs are still unclear. The current study was undertaken to examine the effects of PEMFs on the gene expression of BMPs (BMP-1 to -7) in SV 40 large T antigen immortalized human osteoblastic cells (SV-HFO cells) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). When the cells were 75% confluent, the cells were continuously exposed by the PEMFs for l and 6 hr, respectively. PEMFs reproducibly and markedly increased the mRNA for BMP -2, -4, and -5 in SV-HFO cells after 6 hr. These results indicate that the osteogenic effect of PEMFs may be, in part, mediated by up-regulation of bone morphogenetic protein -2, -4, and -5 in human osteoblastic cells in vitro.
