Assessment of Novel Surgical Procedures Using Bone Morphogenic Protein-7 Infused Into Decellularised Muscle and Bioactive Ceramic: A Histological Analysis.

Objective: Reconstruction of critical bone defects is considered a challenge due to vascular reperfusion injury that may occur. The present study hypothesized that the use of decellularized muscle scaffold (DMS) and bone morphogenic protein-7 (BMP-7), along with resorbable bioactive ceramic silica calcium phosphate cement (SCPC) seeded with human bone marrow stromal cells, can expedite bone formation and maturation.

Methods: Surgical bone defects were created in 20 nude transgenic mice. In experimental group 1 (n = 10), a critical-size (4 mm) calvarial defect was made and grafted with DMS-BMP-7/SCPC. In situ human bone marrow stromal cells [human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC)] were seeded thereafter. As a control, group 2 (n = 10) was treated with DMS/SCPC seeded with hMSCs. After 8 weeks, bone regeneration was evaluated using histology and histomorphometry for both groups.

Results: Histological examination showed bone regeneration crossing the gap (experimental group 1), bone regeneration was noted at the defect periphery, and scattered islands of bone at the canters of the defects (control group 2). New bone formation and maturation were superior in the groups treated with the DMS/BMP-7/SCPC/hMSC constructs. The quantitative histological assessment revealed that the average bone surface area was 255 ± 25 mm2, which was 1.5 times the surface area of group 2, which was reported at 170 ± 35 mm2. The reported difference was considered statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The DMS-BMP-7/SCPC scaffold induced bone regeneration and neovascularization in critical-size defects.