Effects of Cu-doped 45S5 bioactive glass on the lipid peroxidation-associated growth of human osteoblast-like cells in vitro.

Bioactive glass (BG) is a highly attractive material, exhibiting both osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties, which is known to provide a growth enhancing surface for bone cells. Previous studies have shown that lipid peroxidation and in particular generation of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) is involved in the growth of human osteoblast-like cells, HOS, on BG. Copper (Cu), which is an essential cofactor of several enzymes as well as a proangiogenic and an antimicrobial agent, is known to induce lipid peroxidation. Therefore, the enrichment of BG with Cu could potentially have beneficial effects on the growth of the bone cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of copper-doped 45S5 BG on the growth of HOS cells and the generation of HNE. Our results confirmed the association of HNE with the growth of HOS cells. The effects of added Cu were dose-dependent. Specifically, low concentrations (i.e., 0.1% w/w) of Cu improved viability and enhanced HOS cell growth, whereas higher Cu concentrations [i.e., 2.5% and 1% (w/w)] were cytotoxic. The observed effects of Cu concentration on cell growth correlated with the level of HNE production. Therefore, Cu containing BG may represent a useful biomaterial for research and development studies of bone regeneration.