Osteogenesis oftissue-engineered bone implanted with grafts of vascular and sensory nerve bundles

Abstract

：Objective To investigatethe osteogenesis of the tissue-engineered bone implanted with grafts of vascular andsensory nerve bundles. Methods Models of left femoral defects of 1.5 cm were fabricated in36 New Zealand white rabbits which were randomized into 3 groups. In Group A, thetissue-engineered bone which had been constructed with autologous bone marrow mesenchymalstem cells plus β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) was implanted into the defects. In group B, thetissue-engineered bone plus graft of vascular bundle was implanted into the femoraldefects. In group C, the tissue-engineered bone plus graft of sensory nerve bundle wasimplanted into the bony defects. Bone formation throughout the defects was assessedradiographically 1, 3 and 6 months after implantation, and at the same time 4 rabbits fromeach group were sacrificed to evaluate bone formation by gross and histologicalobservations. Results The bone formation in groups B and C was better than in group A(P 0.05).New bone formation occurred mostly around the vessels and chiefly in the form ofenchondral ossification. Conclusion Implantation of vascular and sensory nerve bundlesinto tissue-engineered bone may enhance the esteogenesis of tissue-engineered bone inreconstruction of large bony defects. Key words: Rabbit; Bone defect; Tissue engineering; Vascularbundle; Sensory nerve bundle