Hydroxyapatite coated with insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) stimulates human osteoblast activity in vitro

We studied the effects of a hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphate material coated with Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1) on cell growth, collagen synthesis and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) of human osteoblasts in vitro. Cell proliferation was stimulated when osteoblasts were incubated with untreated hydroxyapatite (HA) and it was further increased by exposure to IGF1-coated HA. 3H-Proline uptake was significantly increased by treatment with either HA or IGF1-coated HA but no significant differences were found between these two groups. ALP activity was enhanced by exposure to HA, with respect to the control, and further increased by treatment with IGF1-coated HA. Our findings suggest that HA is useful for promoting osteoblast activity and IGF1 may help to improve its biological characteristics.