Abstract

Living bodies make use of endogenous electric energies for biological processes and can be affected by exogenous energies as well. Certain exogenous energies, such as the electric field of a polarized bioceramic surface, have been reported to have potency as part of an adjunct therapy for malignant tumors. Here, we investigated the effects of an electrostatic field on a leiomyosarcoma cell line cultured on polarized hydroxyapatite. We found that growth on the polarized surface suppressed cell proliferation, but the occurrence of apoptosis was low. In addition, our examination of cell cyclerelated genes revealed that the expression levels of two markers of myogenic differentiation were increased and tumor suppressor genes were up-regulated. These results indicated that inhibition of DNA replication led to the suppression of proliferation and acceleration of differentiation. Further studies on the electric fields produced around polarized bioceramic surfaces and their effects on cell cycle regulation might enable the design of an effective differentiation-inducing therapy for leiomyosarcoma and other cancers.