The murine femoral bone graft model and a semiautomated histomorphometric analysis tool.

Preclinical studies of bone repair remain a high priority because of unresolved clinical problems associated with treating critical segmental defects and complications of fracture healing. Over the last decade, the murine femoral allograft model has gained popularity due to its standardized surgery and potential for examining a vast array of radiographic, biomechanical, and histological outcome measures. Here, we describe these methods and a novel semiautomated histomorphometric approach to quantify the amount of bone, cartilage, and undifferentiated mesenchymal tissue in demineralized paraffin sections of allografted murine femurs using the Visiopharm Image Analysis Software System.

PTH-enhanced structural allograft healing is associated with decreased angiopoietin-2-mediated arteriogenesis, mast cell accumulation, and fibrosis.

Recombinant parathyroid hormone (rPTH) therapy has been evaluated for skeletal repair in animal studies and clinical trials based on its known anabolic effects, but its effects on angiogenesis and fibrosis remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of rPTH therapy on blood vessel formation and osseous integration in a murine femoral allograft model, which caused a significant increase in small vessel numbers, and decreased large vessel formation (p < 0.05).

Platelet-rich plasma therapy - future or trend?

Chronic complex musculoskeletal injuries that are slow to heal pose challenges to physicians and researchers alike. Orthobiologics is a relatively newer science that involves application of naturally found materials from biological sources (for example, cell-based therapies), and offers exciting new possibilities to promote and accelerate bone and soft tissue healing. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an orthobiologic that has recently gained popularity as an adjuvant treatment for musculoskeletal injuries.

Teriparatide Therapy as an Adjuvant for Tissue Engineering and Integration of Biomaterials.

Critically sized large bone defects commonly result from trauma, radical tumor resections or infections. Currently, massive allografting remain as the clinical standard to treat these critical defects. Unfortunately, allograft healing is limited by the lack of osteogenesis and bio-integration of the graft to the host bone.

Unique angiogenic and vasculogenic properties of renal cell carcinoma in a xenograft model of bone metastasis are associated with high levels of vegf-a and decreased ang-1 expression.

Management of various tumor metastases to bone has dramatically improved, but this is not so for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which is a difficult surgical problem due to its great vascularity. Furthermore, the unique mechanisms that mediate RCC vasculogenesis in bone remain unknown. To understand this process we developed a xenograft model that recapitulates highly vascular RCC versus less vascular tumors that metastasize to bone.