Promoting Proliferation and Differentiation of Pre-Osteoblasts MC3T3-E1 Cells Under Combined Mechanical and Electrical Stimulation

Electrical or mechanical stimulation has been applied widely in bone fracture treatment or bone tissue construction. The effect of combined mechanical and electrical stimulation to osteoblasts or bone tissue has not been deeply studied, which would provide a more actual simulation of in vivo microenvironment. In this study, a cell culture device that can simultaneously load mechanical and electrical stimulation on cells was self-designed and fabricated. The combined laminar shear stress and electrical stimulation could be supplied to MC3T3-E1 cells seeded on the nano-crystalline fluorine-doped tin oxide glass plate. Cell counting kit-8 assay was used to study the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. The changes in alkaline phosphatase activities, genes expression of collagen-I (Col-I) and fibronectin and concentration of Col-I were also measured. Compared with single stimulation, the combined stimulation obviously enhanced proliferation, differentiation and synthesis of extracellular matrix of pre-osteoblasts in a greater extent. The combined mechanical and electrical stimulation provide a new way to promote in vitro cultivation of cells and tissues, which will be very significant in the development of tissue engineering.