NITRIC OXIDE AND PROSTAGLANDIN E2 PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO ULTRA-HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE PARTICLES DEPENDS ON OSTEOBLAST MATURATION STATE

The results of the present study support the hypothesis that osteoblast cell maturation state plays an important role in the response to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene particles and that the terminally differentiated osteocyte may be involved in the bone response to wear debris in vivo.