A novel microcarrier bead model to investigate bone cell responses to mechanical compression in vitro

Periosteal cells grown in macroporous microcarrier bead columns were cyclically loaded with compressive force using a newly developed model. In response to 1/2 h of cyclic compression, RNA synthesis increased significantly by twofold, from 113.4 +/- 19.6 to 260.7 +/- 363 (p < 0.01) after 16 h, whereas DNA synthesis did not increase significantly after 24 h. The microcarrier bead model was calibrated using a linear volume displacement transducer with a range of strain magnitudes applied across the column of 1000-6000 microstrain.