Effects of aging on osteogenic response and heterotopic ossification following burn injury in mice.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a common and debilitating complication of burns, traumatic brain injuries, and musculoskeletal trauma and surgery. Although the exact mechanism of ectopic bone formation is unknown, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) capable of osteogenic differentiation are known to play an essential role. Interestingly, the prevalence of HO in the elderly population is low despite the high overall occurrence of musculoskeletal injury and orthopedic procedures. We hypothesized that a lower osteogenicity of MSCs would be associated with blunted HO formation in old compared with young mice. In vitro osteogenic differentiation of adipose-derived MSCs from old (18-20 months) and young (6-8 weeks) C57/BL6 mice was assessed, with or without preceding burn injury. In vivo studies were then performed using an Achilles tenotomy with concurrent burn injury HO model. HO formation was quantified using μCT scans, Raman spectroscopy, and histology. MSCs from young mice had more in vitro bone formation, upregulation of bone formation pathways, and higher activation of Smad and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling following burn injury. This effect was absent or blunted in cells from old mice. In young mice, burn injury significantly increased HO formation, NF-κB activation, and osteoclast activity at the tenotomy site. This blunted, reactive osteogenic response in old mice fol

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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