Effects of ferric ammonium citrate on the RANKL/OPG gene and protein expression ofhuman osteoblasts

Objective To investigate the effects of Ferric Ammonium Citrate(FAC) on gene and protein expression of RANKL and OPG ofhuman osteoblasts.Methods Afterhuman osteoblasts were cultured in the medium,cells were supplemented with FAC at the final concentration of 0,50,100,and 200 μmol/L.After treatment with FAC for 24h,the mRNA and protein expression of RANKL and OPG both secreted by osteoblasts were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot respectively,and calculated the RANKL/OPG ratio afterwards.Results The mRNA expression of RANKL/OPG ratio inhuman osteoblasth FOB1.19 cells of control,50,100,200 μmol/L groups were(0.56±0.13),(0.58±0.01),(0.69±0.01),(1.84±0.92) respectively; the protein expression of RANKL/OPG ratio inhuman osteoblasth FOB1.19 cells of control,50,100,200 μmol/L groups were(0.82±0.66),(0.82±0.64),(1.09±0.11),(1.25±0.14) respectively.Statistical analysis revealed that FAC treatment at 100 μmol/L and 200 μmol/L significantly increased the expression of RANKL/OPG compared to control group; whereas FAC treatment at 50 μmol/L did not significantly alter the mRNA and protein expression of RANKL /OPG.Conclusion These results indicated that different concentration of FAC affected the expression of RANKL/OPG inhuman osteoblasts,which might further change bone formation and bone resorption.