Lf. Cooper et al., GENERALIZATIONS REGARDING THE PROCESS AND PHENOMENON OF OSSEOINTEGRATION - PART-II - IN-VITRO STUDIES, The International journal of oral and maxillofacial implants, 13(2), 1998, pp. 163-174
In this review, the appropriate use of cell culture to evaluate substr
ate effects on osteoblast behavior during the process of osseointegrat
ion has been considered in the contest of existing reports. The intera
ctions of osteoblasts with different substrates can be measured in ter
ms of cytotoxicity, attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. Th
e osteoblast culture systems that produce an osteoblast matrix opposin
g implant material substrates provide one model for evaluating the imp
lant-bone inter face. Alterations in osteoblast behavior at different
culture substrates ma) reflect clinical determinants of bone formation
at these substrates in vivo; however, cell responses in vitro have no
t been compared or correlated with in vivo outcomes. Legitimate interp
retations of in vitro experiments are discussed in terms of practical,
technical, and biologic limitations presented by the cell culture app
roach. Cell culture provides access to molecular and cellular informat
ion that fosters nanostructural engineering approaches to implant desi
gn and significant hypotheses to be tested in vivo. In this way, cell
culture offers unique insights into the process and phenomenon of osse
ointegration.