Bone formation and degradation behavior of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite with or without collagen-type 1 in osteoporotic bone defects - an experimental study in osteoporotic goats.

The intention of the current work is to assess new bone formation and degradation behavior of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite with (HA/col-1) or without collagen-type I (HA) in osteoporotic metaphyseal bone defects in goats. After ovariectomy and special low-calcium diet for three months, 3 drill hole defects in the vertebrae of L3, L4, L5, 4 drill hole defects in the right and left iliac crest and 1 drill hole defect at the distal femur were created in three Chinese mountain goats with a total of 24 defects. The defects were either filled with one of the biomaterials or left empty (empty defect control group). After 42 days, the animals were euthanized and the samples were assessed for new bone formation using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) and histomorphometry with 2 regions of interest. Detail histology, enzymehistochemistry and immunohistochemistry as well as connexin-43 in situ hybridization and transmission electron microscopy were carried out for evaluation of degradation behavior of the materials and cellular responses of the surrounding tissue in respect to the implants. HR-pQCT showed the highest BV/TV ratio (p = 0.008) and smallest trabecular spacing (p = 0.005) for HA compared to the other groups in the region of interest at the interface with 1mm distance to the initially created defect. The HA/col-1 yielded the highest connectivity density (Conn.D) (p = 0.034) and the highest number of trabeculae (Tb.N) (p = 0.002) compared to the HA and the control group. Histomorphometric analysis for the core region of the initially created defect revealed a statistically higher new bone formation in the HA (p = 0.001) and HA/col-1 group (p = 0.001) compared to the empty defect group including all defect sites. This result was confirmed for site specific analysis with significant higher new bone formation for the HA group for vertebral defects compared to the empty defect group (p = 0.029). For the interface region, no statistically significant differences were found between the three groups (p = 0.08). Histology revealed a good biocompatibility without inflammatory reaction for the HA- and HA/col-1 implants with a higher fragmentation of the HA-implant compared to the HA/col-1 biomaterial and formation of new bone in the region between the biomaterial fragments by osteoblasts. Fragmentation was shown by transmission electron microscopy to be caused by multinuclear osteoclast-like cells with degradation of the implant via intracellular incorporation of degraded implant material particles. In conclusion, both nanoparticulate HA with and without collagen type-1 showed better new bone formation compared to untreated drill hole defects in metaphyseal regions of this osteoporotic Chinese mountain goat model with good biocompatibility.

Exogenous phytoestrogenic molecule icaritin incorporated into a porous scaffold for enhancing bone defect repair.

This study was designed to develop a bioactive scaffold to enhance bone defect repair in steroid-associated osteonecrosis (SAON). Icaritin, a metabolite of the herb Epimedium, has been identified as an angiogenic and osteogenic phytomolecule. Icaritin was homogenized into poly lactic-co-glycolic acid/tricalcium phosphate (PLGA/TCP) to form an icaritin-releasing porous composite scaffold (PLGA/TCP/icaritin) by fine-spinning technology. In vitro, high performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the release of icaritin during degradation of PLGA/TCP/icaritin. The osteogenic effects of PLGA/TCP/icaritin were evaluated using rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). In vivo, the osteogenic effect of PLGA/TCP/icaritin was determined within a bone tunnel after core decompression in SAON rabbits and angiography within scaffolds was examined in rabbit muscle pouch model. In vitro study confirmed the sustainable release of icaritin from PLGA/TCP/icaritin with the bioactive scaffold promoting the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of rat BMSCs. In vivo study showed that PLGA/TCP/icaritin significantly promoted new bone formation within the bone defect after core decompression in SAON rabbits and enhanced neovascularization in the rabbit muscle pouch experiment. In conclusion, PLGA/TCP/icaritin is an innovative local delivery system that demonstrates sustainable release of osteogenic phytomolecule icaritin enhancing bone repair in an SAON rabbit model. The supplement of scaffold materials with bioactive phytomolecule(s) might improve treatment efficiency in challenging orthopedic conditions.

A delivery system targeting bone formation surfaces to facilitate RNAi-based anabolic therapy.

Metabolic skeletal disorders associated with impaired bone formation are a major clinical challenge. One approach to treat these defects is to silence bone-formation-inhibitory genes by small interference RNAs (siRNAs) in osteogenic-lineage cells that occupy the niche surrounding the bone-formation surfaces. We developed a targeting system involving dioleoyl trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP)-based cationic liposomes attached to six repetitive sequences of aspartate, serine, serine ((AspSerSer)(6)) for delivering siRNAs specifically to bone-formation surfaces. Using this system, we encapsulated an osteogenic siRNA that targets casein kinase-2 interacting protein-1 (encoded by Plekho1, also known as Plekho1). In vivo systemic delivery of Plekho1 siRNA in rats using our system resulted in the selective enrichment of the siRNAs in osteogenic cells and the subsequent depletion of Plekho1. A bioimaging analysis further showed that this approach markedly promoted bone formation, enhanced the bone micro-architecture and increased the bone mass in both healthy and osteoporotic rats. These results indicate (AspSerSer)(6)-liposome as a promising targeted delivery system for RNA interference-based bone anabolic therapy.