Objectives: Mechanical strain is profoundly involved in many aspects of oral and maxillofacial surgery and dentistry such as orthodontic tooth movement, fracture healing and implant stability. Especially over the past 10 years, distraction osteogenesis seems to be considered as a standard treatment in the oral and maxillofacial reconstructive surgery applying the appropriate mechanical strain. However the biochemical and cellular mechanism in bone regeneration under the mechanically strained condition has not been fully understood. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of continuous cyclic mechanical strain as a fundamental event in bone foster osteogenesis on the mRNA expression of bone growth factors and bone matrix proteins in human osteoblast-like cells. Methods: A human osteoblast-like cell line, HOS, was maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS. Cells were transferred to flexible silicon bottom chamber and subjected to tensile mechanical strains using a specially designed device, STRETCH® (SCHOLAR-TEC corp) for the different time intervals, 4, 8, 12, or 24 h. mRNA extracted from each samples was analyzed by RT-PCR to examine the levels of TGF-b1, VEGF, collagen type I and osteopontin. Results: After 4 hours, mRNA expression of TGF-b1, IGF-1, VEGF, and osteopontin were strongly increased in the experimental group, suggesting that tensile mechanical strain on human osteoblast like cell increased the production of bone growth factors and bone matrix proteins. Conclusion: The adequate mechanical strain may be osteogenic potent for bone regeneration and may control bone formation in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery. The mRNA expression of other growth factors are now under way to elucidate the local regulation of bone regeneration.

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