OBJECTIVE: To investigate BCP (basic calcium phosphate) crystal-stimulated mitogenesis and collagenase gene transcription in primary cultures of porcine chondrocytes. METHODS: The role of protein kinases in BCP crystal-stimulated DNA synthesis was investigated using thymidine incorporation, kinase inhibitors, and protein kinase C (PKC) assays. Northern blot analysis was used to determine the levels of collagenase c-fos and c-jun message. RESULTS: BCP crystals stimulated chondrocyte proliferation in a PKC-dependent manner. Increased levels of collagenase message were preceded by an increased accumulation of c-fos, but not c-jun. CONCLUSION: BCP crystals could contribute to the abnormal chondrocyte proliferation and collagenase secretion observed in some rheumatic diseases.
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Mitchell et al. (1992) studied this question.
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