Intraoperative delivery of the Notch ligand Jagged-1 regenerates appendicular and craniofacial bone defects.

Each year, 33% of US citizens suffer from a musculoskeletal condition that requires medical intervention, with direct medical costs approaching $1 trillion USD per year. Despite the ubiquity of skeletal dysfunction, there are currently limited safe and efficacious bone growth factors in clinical use. Notch is a cell-cell communication pathway that regulates self-renewal and differentiation within the mesenchymal/osteoblast lineage.