Simvastatin promotes osteoblastic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells

Objective To investigate the effect of Simvastatin on function of osteoblastic cell differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells(hMSCs) in vitro, and to study the mechanisms of anabolic effect of Simvastatin on bone formation.Methods hMSCs from patients underwent artificial femoral head replacement after femoral neck fracture was cultured in vitro. After being added with 1×10~ -7mol/L Simvastatin, the changes of Cbfa 1 expression were examined by Western blot, the changes of alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity were examined by ALP measurement kit, and the changes of osteocalcin were examined by radioimmunologic assay.Results After the supplementation of Simvastatin, the expression of Cbfa1 in hMSCs increased, and the level of ALP and osteocalcin (OCN) also increased compared with the control group which did not receive Simvastatin.Conclusions Simvastatin can stimulate osteoblastic differentiation accompanied with increased ALP activity and OCN production while high expression of Cbfa1 were seen in vitro. These results may be parts of the mechanisms of anabolic effect of Simvastatin on bone formation.