Cytokine expression by cultured osteoblasts from patients with osteoporotic fractures

Human osteoblasts were derived in culture from explants of bone from patients who had recently suffered osteoporotic fractures and from patients with no evidence of osteoporosis. The expression of cytokine mRNA in these osteoblasts was subsequently determined by reverse transcriptase-linked polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We have detected mRNA for IL-1beta, IL-3, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha and -beta, and the three TGF-beta isoforms in the cells. The profile of cytokines expressed by osteoblasts derived from patients with osteoporotic fractures was consistent with profiles observed in osteoblasts derived from patients with no evidence of reduced bone mass--the latter included children undergoing corrective surgery and adult subjects ranging from 31 to 80 years undergoing elective surgery for osteoarthritis and other bone pathologies.