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Human bone-cell proliferation in vitro decreases with human donor age
1Department of Rheumatology, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital, Oswestry, Shropshire, UK.
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume
|January 1, 1995
Summary
Human trabecular bone cell outgrowth decreases with age. Younger individuals have more bone precursor cells, with numbers dropping significantly in early adulthood and remaining low throughout life.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Science
- Cell Biology
- Orthopedics
Background:
- Human trabecular bone cell outgrowth is crucial for bone health and repair.
- Previous studies suggest in vitro growth kinetics of passaged human bone cells are age-independent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of donor age on the rate of cell outgrowth from human trabecular bone.
- To quantify age-related changes in proliferative precursor cells on trabecular bone surfaces.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative dye-binding technique used to measure cell outgrowth.
- Cultures supplemented with autologous serum and fetal calf serum.
- Analysis of cell outgrowth proportion and total cell number at 7 and 14 days.
Main Results:
- Significant negative correlation between donor age and proportion of bone fragments with outgrowth (r = -0.70; p < 0.001).
- Significant negative correlation between donor age and total cell number after 14 days (r = -0.78; p < 0.005).
- Autologous serum supported greater cell proliferation than fetal calf serum across all ages.
Conclusions:
- The number of proliferative precursor cells on human trabecular bone surfaces is higher in younger subjects.
- A marked decrease in precursor cell numbers occurs in the second and third decades of life.
- These precursor cell numbers remain low into old age, suggesting implications for age-related bone health.