Histological evaluations of apatite-fiber scaffold cultured with mesenchymal stem cells by implantation at rat subcutaneous tissue

Issue title: Current Research Progress of Ceramic Biomaterials in Japan

Guest editors: Kimihiro Yamashita and Masayuki Okazaki

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Suzuki, Kitaru | Nagata, Kohei | Yokota, Tomohiro | Honda, Michiyo | Aizawa, Mamoru^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Science and Technology, Meiji University, 1-1-1 Higashimita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 44 934 7237; Fax: +81 44 934 7906; E-mail: mamorua@meiji.ac.jp.

Abstract: Background:There is a strong impetus for the development of alternative treatments for bone disease that avoid the complications associated with autografts and allografts. To address this, we previously developed porous apatite-fiber scaffolds (AFSs) which have three-dimensional interconnected pores, and constructed tissue-engineered bone by culturing rat bone marrow cells (RBMCs) using AFSs in a radial-flow bioreactor (RFB). Objective:To generate additional baseline data for the development of tissue-engineered bone constructed for clinical application using a RFB, we cultured RBMCs using AFSs under static conditions (hereafter, RBMC AFS culture), and monitored RBMC growth and differentiation characteristics in vitro, and two weeks after subcutaneous inoculation into recipient rats. Methods:RBMCs were seeded to AFSs and growth, differentiation and calcification were monitored in vitro and in vivo by histological evaluation using hematoxylin eosin, alkaline phosphatase and alizarin red S stains. Results:RBMCs in/on AFSs proliferated and differentiated normally in vitro and in vivo, and calcification was evident two weeks after subcutaneous AFS culture implantation. Histological assays revealed that AFSs and RBMC AFS cultures were biocompatible, and did not induce inflammation or immunological rejection in vivo. Conclusions:These findings suggest that AFSs are a conducive microenvironment for bone regeneration and are well tolerated in vivo. The results provide valuable baseline data for the design of implant studies using tissue-engineered bone constructed by RFB.

Keywords: Hydroxyapatite, apatite-fiber scaffold, rat bone marrow cells, histological evaluation, tissue-engineered bone

DOI: 10.3233/BME-171656

Journal: Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 57-64, 2017