Repair of Rat Segmental Defects with Mineralized Collagen Grafts Combined with or without Mesenchymal Stem Cells and BMP-2

1Introduction Thepreferredtreatmentofbonedefectsisautologousbonegraft.However,itslimitedsupplyandassociatedmorbiditylimititsuse.Immunologicalreactionsandriskofcontaminationlimittheuseofallograftbone.Bonegraftsubstitutesaretheremainingoption.Wehavedevelope…

Repair of Rat Segmental Defects with Mineralized Collagen Grafts Combined with or without Mesenchymal Stem Cells and BMP-2

The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the bone formation capacity with three different grafts. Four millimeter segmental defects were created in adult rat tibias and were either left empty (control defects) or implanted with (1) nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen/PLA (nHAC/PLA) composite, (2) nHAC/PLA composite added with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), (3) nHAC/PLA composite added with bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2). Radiographs of the defects were taken weekly post-surgery. After 1 or 2 months, the rats were euthanized. Histologic analyses were performed on the harvested tissue. nHAC/PLA composite could enhance the repair of rat tibia segmental defects. Addition of BMSCs or BMP-2 to nHAC/PLA led to an increase in osteogenesis. nHAC/PLA composite could be an ideal alternative bone-graft material and it could also be used as an ideal carrier of BMSCs or BMP-2.