Comparative effects of anti-inflammatory corticosteroids in human bone-derived osteoblast-like cells

While effects of inhaled corticosteroids on serum markers of bone metabolis m in normal and asthmatic subjects have been reported, there are little dat a on the direct effects of these corticosteroids on end-organs such as bone . The results presented here compare the effects of budesonide and its epim ers (22S- and 22R-budesonide), fluticasone and dexamethasone on growth and differentiation of cultured human bone cells, Osteoblast-like cells were cultured from human foetal bone chips grown to c onfluence and used at first subculture, At concentrations of 10(-11)-10(-7) M each corticosteroid (CS) caused a dos e-dependent decrease in [H-3]thymidine incorporation into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), median effective concentration (EC50): fluticasone (0.06 nM) >2 2R (0.26 nM) >22S (0.4 nM) >budesonide (0.47 nM) >dexamethasone (1.5 nM), E ach CS resulted in a dose-dependent increase in alkaline phosphatase activi ty, EC50: fluticasone (0.14 nM) >22R (0.2 nM)=22S (0.2 nM) >budesonide (0.4 nM) >dexamethasone (1.6 nM), The 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D-3 (1,25(OH)(2)D-3 )-stimulated osteocalcin production was decreased in the presence of each C S, EC50: fluticasone (0.02 nM) >22S (0.1 nM) >22R (0.2 nM) >budesonide (1.0 nM) >dexamethasone (1.8 nM), In human bone cells the potencies of fluticasone and budesonide in relation to dexamethasone are not dissimilar to those derived from human lymphocyte s in vitro.