USE OF THE DERMAL FIBROBLAST IN BONE REPAIR: BENCH TO BEDSIDE

摘要

Regenerative strategies for inferior bone and cartilage repair are a growing need in our aging veterinary population. Pharmaceuticals (i.e. osteoclast inhibitors) and bioactive proteins (i.e. bone morphogenetic protein-2) are recognized advancements in repair, and the use of living cell vectors as a regenerative treatment for bone and cartilage damage offers the advantages of molecular engineering to release paracrine and autocrine bioactive factors, direct integration of the cell into the regenerative process, and a broad diversity of medical applications. Live cell transplantation for cartilage damage is approved for use in humans in the United States using autologous chondrocytes or fresh osteochondral allografts and is being performed by some veterinarians in the United States in horses.