Regulation of Osteoblast-Like Cell Behaviors on Hydroxyapatite by Electrical Polarization

Abstract

The osteoblast adhesion to the substrates are recognized to play a fundamental role in osteoconduction process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro behavior of osteoblasts cultured on polarized hydroxyapatite (HA), having the enhanced osteobonding abilities. Osteoblast-like cells were seeded onto the polarized HA and investigated the adhesion and motility. The polarization had no effects on the percentage of the number of the spreaded cells against all the adhered cells, but had significant effects on the elongation of adhered cells from fluorescent observation and on the cell motility showed by the wound healing assay. The charges induced on the HA surface accelerated the cytoskeleton reorganization of the adhered cells cultured on HA specimens. The acceleration was emerged as the cells shape, actin filament pattern such as stress fiber formation, and the prolongation of the cell movement distances.