Abstract
Early implant instability has been proposed as a critical factor in the onset and progression of aseptic loosening and periprosthetic osteolysis in total joint arthroplasties. Previous in vitro studies have reported that macrophages stimulated with cyclic mechanical strain release inflammatory mediators. Little is known, however, about the response of these cells to mechanical strain with particles, which is often a component of the physical environment of the cell. We therefore studied the production of prostaglandin E~2~ (PGE~2~), an important mediator in aseptic loosening and periprosthetic osteolysis in total joint arthroplasties, for human macrophages treated with mechanical stretch alone, titanium particles alone, and mechanical stretch and particles combined. A combination of mechanical stretch and titanium particles resulted in a statistically synergistic elevation of levels of PGE~2~ compared with the levels found with either stretch or particles alone. Exposure of human macrophages to mechanical stretch with particles upregulated the expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)‐2 mRNA but not COX‐1 mRNA, this expression resulting in a 97‐fold increase in PGE~2~ production compared to the nonstimulated cells. The current study is the first to investigate the effects of mechanical stretch with particles on cultured macrophages and include an investigation of the time course of PGE~2~ production and COX‐2 mRNA expression. Our results suggest that, while mechanical strain may be one of the primary factors responsible for macrophage activation and periprosthetic osteolysis, mechanical strain with particles load may contribute significantly to the osteolytic potential of macrophages in vitro. The synergistic effect observed between mechanical stretch and particles could accelerate implant loosening and implies that reduction in either cyclic mechanical strain or wear debris load would lead to a reduction of osteolysis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 68A: 531–536, 2004