Cranial bone repair and regeneration via tissue engineering principles has attracted a great deal of interest from researchers during last decade. Here, within this study, 6 mm critical-sized bone defect regeneration via genetically modified mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were monitored up to 4 months. Cranial bone repair and new bone formations were evaluated by histological staining and real time PCR analysis in five different groups including autograft and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) transfected MSC groups. Results presented here indicate a proper cranial regeneration in autograft groups and a prospering regeneration for hBMP-2 encoding mesenchymal stem cells.
Keywords: Bone morphogenetic protein-2; cranial bone regeneration; critical size defect; mesenchymal stem cell; transfection.