Engineered cartilage heals skull defects

Introduction The purposes of this study were to differentiate embryonic limb bud cells into cartilage, characterize the nodules produced, and determine their ability to heal a mouse skull defect. Methods Aggregated mouse limb bud cells (E12-E12.5), cultured in a bioreactor for 3 weeks, were analyzed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics 2010-02, Vol.137 (2), p.162.e1-162.e9
Main Authors: Doan, Lan, Kelley, Connor, Luong, Heather, English, Jeryl, Gomez, Hector, Johnson, Evan, Cody, Dianna, Duke, Pauline Jackie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bone Transplantation - methods
Cartilage - cytology
Cartilage - transplantation
Cell Differentiation
Cells, Cultured
Chondrocytes - cytology
Chondrogenesis
Dentistry
Embryonic Stem Cells - cytology
Implants, Experimental
Limb Buds - cytology
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Osseointegration - physiology
Osteotomy
Skull - surgery
Tissue Engineering - methods
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Summary:Introduction The purposes of this study were to differentiate embryonic limb bud cells into cartilage, characterize the nodules produced, and determine their ability to heal a mouse skull defect. Methods Aggregated mouse limb bud cells (E12-E12.5), cultured in a bioreactor for 3 weeks, were analyzed by histology or implanted in 6 skull defects. Six controls had no implants. The mice were scanned with microcomputed tomography weekly. At 2 and 4 weeks, a mouse from each group was killed, and the defect region was prepared for histology. Results Chondrocytes in nodules were mainly hypertrophic. About 90% of the nodules mineralized. BrdU staining showed dividing cells in the perichondrium. Microcomputed tomography scans showed increasing minerals in implanted nodules that completely filled the defect by 6 weeks; defects in the control mice were not healed by then. At 2 and 4 weeks, the control skull sections showed only a thin bony layer over the defect. At 2 weeks, bone and cartilage filled the defects with implants, and the implants were well integrated with the adjacent cortical bone. At 4 weeks, the implant had turned almost entirely into bone. Conclusions Cartilage differentiated in the bioreactor and facilitated healing when implanted into a defect. Engineering cartilage to replace bone is an alternative to current methods of bone grafting.
ISSN:0889-5406
1097-6752
DOI:10.1016/j.ajodo.2009.06.018