Bone morphogenetic protein-7 (osteogenic protein-1) promotes tendon graft integration in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in sheep.

Background: Bone morphogenetic proteins induce new bone both in patients with bone defects and at extraskeletal sites in animals. After anterior cruciate ligament rupture, tendon graft fixation into a bone tunnel is a widely used method for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Hypothesis: Bone morphogenetic protein-7 applied to the bone-tendon interface enables better integration of a free tendon graft into the surrounding bone.

Study of the healing process after transplantation of pasteurized bone grafts in rabbits.

Different bone allografts (pasteurized, autoclaved, and frozen) were compared based on their osteoinductive properties. Our primary purpose was to examine the biologic qualities of pasteurized allografts, as pasteurization inactivates most viruses transmitted by transplantation. Frozen, pasteurized, and autoclaved allografts were packed into a standard defect of rabbit ulna.