Mesenchymal stem cells accelerate bone allograft incorporation in the presence of diabetes mellitus.

Allograft (Allo) incorporation in the presence of a systemic disease like diabetes mellitus (DM) is becoming a major issue in the orthopedic community. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotent stem cells that may be derived from adult, whole bone marrow and have been shown to induce bone formation in segmental defects when combined with the appropriate carrier/scaffold. The objectives of this study were to analyze the effect of DM upon Allo incorporation in a segmental rat femoral defect and to also investigate MSC augmentation of Allo incorporation. Segmental (5 mm) femoral defects were created in non-DM and DM rats and treated with Allo containing demineralized bone matrix (DBM) or DBM with MSC augmentation. Histological scoring at 4 weeks demonstrated less mature bone in the DM/DBM group compared to its non-DM counterpart (p < 0.001). However, there was significantly more mature bone in the DM/MSC group when compared to the DM/DBM group at both 4 and 8 weeks (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004). Furthermore, significantly more bone formation was observed in the DM/MSC group compared to the DM/DBM group at the 4-week time point (p < 0.001). The results of this study suggest that MSC are a potential adjunct for bone regeneration when implanted in an orthotopic site in the presence of DM.