Gene expression by human monocytes from peripheral blood in response to exposure to metals

✍ Scribed by Katrin Jost-Albrecht; Willy Hofstetter

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 833 KB
• Volume: 76B
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1552-4973
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.b.30389

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

With increasing life expectancy and active lifestyles, the longevity of arthroplasties has become an important problem in orthopaedic surgery and will remain so until novel approaches to joint preservation have been developed. The sensitivity of the recipient to the metal alloys may be one of the factors limiting the lifespan of implants. In the present study, the response of human monocytes from peripheral blood to an exposure to metal ions was investigated, using the method of real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–based low‐density arrays. Upon stimulation with bivalent (Co^2+^ and Ni^2+^) and trivalent (Ti^3+^) cations and with the calcium antagonist LaCl~3~, the strength of the elicited monocytic response was in the order of Co^2+^ ≥ Ni^2+^ > Ti^3+^ ≥ LaCl~3~. The transcriptional regulation of the majority of genes affected by the exposure of monocytes to Co^2+^ and Ni^2+^ was similar. Some genes critically involved in the processes of inflammation and bone resorption, however, were found to be differentially regulated by these bivalent cations. The data demonstrate that monocytic gene expression is adapted in response to metal ions and that this response is, in part, specific for the individual metals. It is suggested that metal alloys used in arthroplasties may affect the extent of inflammation and bone resorption in the peri‐implant tissues in dependence of their chemical composition. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2006