In the present study, we evaluated the effect of CGM on osteogenic differentiation of cultured osteoblasts, and determined whether combination treatment with LLLT had synergistic effects on osteogenic differentiation. The results indicated that CGM promoted proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of osteoblasts at the threshold concentration of 10 μg/ml; whereas, CGM showed cytotoxic properties at concentrations above 100 μg/ml. ALP activity and mineralization were increased at concentrations above 10 μg/ml . CGM in concentrations up to 10 μg/ml also increased the expression of osteoblast-activated factors including type I collagen, BMP-2, RUNX2, and Osterix. The CGM (50 μg/ml) and LLLT (80 mW for 15 sec) combination treatment group showed the highest proliferation levels, ALP activity, and mineralization ratios. The combination treatment also increased the levels of phosphorylated forms of p38, ATF2, PKD, ERK, and JNK. In addition, the osteoblast differentiation factors including type I collagen, BMP-2, RUNX2, and Osterix protein levels were clearly increased in the combination treatment group. These results suggested that the combination treatment of CGM and LLLT has synergistic effects on the differentiation and mineralization of osteoblastic cells.

• Ki-Hyun Lee(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• Young-Seok Kim(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• Su-Bin Yu(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan,)
• Hae-Mi Kang(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan,)
• Hyun-Ho Kwak(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan,)
• In-Ryoung Kim(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• Bong-Soo Park(Department of Oral Anatomy, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan,) Correspondence to