MC3T3 Gene Expression in Response to Ascorbic Acid Treatment

The MC3T3 (MC3TC-E1, ATCC ® CRL-2593) cell line serves as a model for mouse pre-osteoblasts and has been previously used in research for the study of transcription factors in bone cell differentiation. The study of bone cells in culture is essential for the examination of gene expression during cellular differentiation and extracellular matrix mineralization. MC3T3 cells in culture begin to mineralize after approximately fourteen days, but express the genes required for mineralization at much earlier points in time. Moreover, ascorbic acid is required for the proper formation and organization of the extracellular matrix due to its role in collagen formation. Our experiment consists of treating MC3T3 cells with ascorbic acid and assessing how it affects genes that regulate apoptosis (such as BCL-2) as well as gene biomarkers for cytoskeleton development (such as ß-actin). This will then be compared with an untreated control to observe potential differences. The goal of our study is to better understand how ascorbic acid affects gene expression in this cell line when compared to an untreated control during the first 48 hours of treatment.