Abstract:

【Objective】 The objective of the study was to evaluate the role of fluoride on osteocalcin (OCN) gene expression in osteoblasts cultured in vitro.【Method】Osteoblasts were isolated from calvaria in neonatal mice and exposure to different doses of sodium fluoride (0-10-3mol?L-1). RNA was isolated from osteoblasts cultured in vitro and osteocalcin gene expression at different fluoride concentrations were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. 【Result】 The results indicated that treatment of the cells with sodium fluoride (10-7-10-3mol?L-1) up-regulated the expression of osteocalcin gene in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 5×10-4 mol?L-1 sodium fluoride treatment showed a maximal stimulation, which was almost 30 times higher than the control. 【Conclusion】 The results in the current study suggest that sodium fluoride stimulated OCN gene expression, and OCN may play a significant role in skeletal fluorosis.

Key words: sodium fluoride')">sodium fluoride, osteoblast, OCN, fluorescent quantitative PCR