Engineering of vascularized transplantable bone tissues: induction of axial vascularization in an osteoconductive matrix using an arteriovenous loop.

Introduction: Vascularization remains an obstacle to engineering of larger volume bone tissues. Our aim was to induce axial vascularization in a processed bovine cancellous bone (PBCB) matrix using an arteriovenous (AV) loop (artery, vein graft, and vein).

Methods: Custom-made PBCB discs (9 x 5 mm) were implanted into rats.

Differentiation of osteoblasts in three-dimensional culture in processed cancellous bone matrix: quantitative analysis of gene expression based on real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Processed bovine cancellous bone (PBCB) is an attractive material for tissue engineering of bone. It is biocompatible, osteoconductive, nonimmunogenic, and porous and its biomechanical properties are close to those of native bone. In this study, differentiation of primary rat osteoblasts (rOBs) incubated on PBCB was investigated in vitro.