IOM Ricerca, Viagrande, (CT), Italy.
Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 2;7(1):7110. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-07672-0.
Traumatic injury or surgical excision of diseased bone tissue usually require the reconstruction of large bone defects unable to heal spontaneously, especially in older individuals. This is a big challenge requiring the development of biomaterials mimicking the bone structure and capable of inducing the right commitment of cells seeded within the scaffold. In particular, given their properties and large availability, the human adipose-derived stem cells are considered as the better candidate for autologous cell transplantation. In order to evaluate the regenerative potential of these cells along with an osteoinductive biomaterial, we have used collagen/hydroxyapatite scaffolds to test ectopic bone formation after subcutaneous implantation in mice. The process was analysed both in vivo, by Fluorescent Molecular Tomography (FMT), and ex vivo, to evaluate the formation of bone and vascular structures. The results have shown that the biomaterial could itself be able of promoting differentiation of host cells and bone formation, probably by means of its intrinsic chemical and structural properties, namely the microenvironment. However, when charged with human mesenchymal stem cells, the ectopic bone formation within the scaffold was increased. We believe that these results represent an important advancement in the field of bone physiology, as well as in regenerative medicine.
创伤性损伤或手术切除病变骨组织通常需要重建无法自发愈合的大骨缺损，尤其是在老年人中。这是一个巨大的挑战，需要开发模仿骨结构的生物材料，并能够诱导接种在支架内的细胞做出正确的承诺。特别是，鉴于其特性和广泛的可用性，人类脂肪来源的干细胞被认为是自体细胞移植的更好候选物。为了评估这些细胞与骨诱导生物材料的再生潜力，我们使用胶原/羟基磷灰石支架在小鼠皮下植入后测试异位骨形成。通过荧光分子断层扫描（FMT）在体内和体外分析该过程，以评估骨和血管结构的形成。结果表明，生物材料本身能够促进宿主细胞的分化和骨形成，这可能是通过其内在的化学和结构特性，即微环境。然而，当负载有人骨髓间充质干细胞时，支架内的异位骨形成增加。我们相信这些结果代表了骨生理学领域以及再生医学领域的重要进展。
