Stem Cells Are Necessary to Bridge a Critical Size Gap when a Biomimetic Scaffold is used to Regenerate a Large Segmental Femoral Defect

摘要

Critical size long bone defects can result from severe traumatic injuries or large bone resections secondary to cancer treatment. While surgical options exist for this problem, there are drawbacks to each method and no current surgical treatment ensures successful healing. Our lab has shown that polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) scaffolds induce rapid bone regeneration in rodent and canine models. These scaffolds support the growth of adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and allow bone regeneration in a sheep model. In this study a biomimetic PBT scaffold without MSCs was placed to determine whether MSCs are necessary for successful bone bridging.