Effect of metformin (MF) on the proliferation,bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and core binding factor al (Cbfa-1) gene expression in cultured rat osteoblast

Objective To study the effect of metformin on proliferation,bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and core binding factor-1 (cbfa-1) gene expression in cultured rat calvarial osteoblasts.And the possible mechanism of action on osteoblats was investigated.Methods (1) Primary calvarial osteoblasts were isolated,cultured and identified.(2) The rat osteoblasts were cultured in vitro,cultured osteoblasts were treated with metformin in different concentrations (0,50,100,200,400 μmol/L) after 24 hours.Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT and the expression of BMP-2 and Cbfa-1 mRNA were analyzed by real-timuantitative PCR.Results Osteoblasts were treated with metformin after 24 hours,Metformin could promote osteoblast proliferation,the OD of 400 μmol/L concentrations was the biggest,which was 0.298±0.047 (P 0.05),and the expression of BMP-2 and Cbfa-1 mRNA were increased,in concentration-dependent manner.Conclusion Metformin induces the proliferation,differentiation of osteoblast probably by increasing the expression of BMP-2 and Cbfa-1 mRNA.