Boron as Boric Acid Induces mRNA Expression of the Differentiation Factor Tuftelin in Pre-Osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 Cells

The effects of boron on the formation and maintenance of mineralized structures at the molecular level are still not clearly defined. Thus, a study was conducted using MC3T3-E1 cells to determine whether boron affected mRNA expressions of genes associated with bone/alveolar bone formation around the teethMC3T3-E1 (clone 4) cells were cultured in media treated with boric acid at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 10, 100, or 1000 ng/ml. Total RNAs of each group were isolated on day 3. Gene expression profiles were determined by using RT(2)Profiler PCR micro-array that included 84 genes associated with osteogenic differentiation. Tuftelin1 mRNA expression was upregulated by all boron treatments. The upregulation was confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR using the tuftelin probe. While 100 ng/ml had no effect on the integrin-alpha 2 (Itga2) transcript and 1 ng/ml boric acid induced Itga2 mRNA expression (2.1-fold), 0.1, 10, and 1000 ng/ml boric acid downregulated the integrin-alpha 2 gene transcript 2.2-, 1.5-, and 2.1-fold respectively. While 0.1 ng/ml boric acid induced BMP6, increased BMP1r mRNA expression (1.5 fold) was observed in 1000 ng/ml boric acid treatment. The findings suggest that boron affects the regulation of the tuftelin1 gene in osteoblastic cells. Further studies are needed to establish that the beneficial actions of boron on alveolar bone and tooth formation and maintenance include an effect on the expression of the tuftelin1 gene.