Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Mesenchymal Stem Cells Revealed Similar Bone Formation to Allograft in a Sheep Model

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)

Introduction Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are key factors in bone regeneration. Further stimulation should establish an enhanced cell environment optimal for vessel evolvement and hereby being able to attract bone-forming cells. The aim of this study was to generate new bone by using MSCs and VEGF, being able to stimulate growth equal to allograft. Methods Eight Texel/Gotland sheep had four titanium implants in a size of 10 × 12 mm inserted into bilateral distal femurs, containing a 2 mm gap. In the gap, autologous 3 × 10 6 MSCs seeded on hydroxyapatite (HA) granules in combination with 10 ng, 100 ng, and 500 ng VEGF release/day were added. After 12 weeks, the implant-bone blocks were harvested, embedded, and sectioned for histomorphometric analysis. Bone formation and mechanical fixation were evaluated. Blood samples were collected for the determination of bone-related biomarkers and VEGF in serum at weeks 0, 1, 4, 8, and 12. Results The combination of 3 × 10 6 MSCs with 10 ng, 100 ng, and 500 ng VEGF release/day exhibited similar amount of bone formation within the gap as allograft ( P > 0.05). Moreover, no difference in mechanical fixation was observed between the groups ( P > 0.05). Serum biomarkers showed no significant difference compared to baseline (all P > 0.05). Conclusion MSCs and VEGF exhibit significant bone regenerati

Evidence level

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

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