Purpose: The presence of a functional periosteum accelerates healing in bone defects by providing a source of progenitor cells that aid in repair. We hypothesized that bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) sheets could be used to engineer functional periosteal tissues.
Materials and methods: BMSCs were cultured to hyperconfluence and produced sufficient extracellular matrix to form robust tissue sheets. The sheets were wrapped around calcium phosphate pellets and implanted subcutaneously in mice for 8 weeks. Histologic comparisons were made between calcium phosphate samples with and without BMSC sheet wraps. Bone and periosteum formation were analyzed through tissue morphology and tissue-specific protein expression.
Results: Calcium phosphate pellets wrapped in BMSC sheets regenerated a bone-like tissue, but pellets lacking the cell sheet wrap did not. The bone-like tissue seen on the calcium phosphate scaffolds wrapped with the BMSC sheets was enclosed within a periosteum-like tissue characterized morphologically and through expression of periostin.
Conclusions: These data indicate that cell sheet technology has potential for regenerating a functional periosteum-like tissue that could aid in future orthopedic therapy.
Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.