Human primary bone precursor cells were seeded in three-dimensional constructs consisting of hydroxyapatite (HA) or poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Cells grown on tissue culture polystyrene dishes served as controls.
After cultivation for up to 21 days the expression of Ets2 and other important bone-specific genes was assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western Blotting.
Ets2 mRNA showed significantly higher expression in controls than in bone-like constructs, and more Ets2 mRNA was expressed in cells grown in HA than in PLGA constructs. At protein level however, Ets2 expression was higher in constructs than in controls after prolonged culture.
Our study showed for the first time a differential expression of Ets2 in tissue engineered bone constructs in vitro, demonstrating that scaffold chemistry has an influence on the expression of genes regulating osteogenesis.