May 19, 2014

MSCs as the Workhorse of Regenerative Medicine - Part II - Orthopaedic Roundup

MSCs truly are the Workhorse of Regenerative Medicine, and their use in Orthopaedic applications is where clinical translation was initially imagined.  However, the robust signaling activity of MSCs has widened the range of clinical indications to include cardiac, vascular, and neurological regeneration, as well as immunological applications (eg. GVHD, Chron’s disease), and more recently, cancer therapies.  
It is thus not surprising that MSCs were a strong component of the annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society in New Orleans, LA in March.  We were fortunate enough to attend this conference and see the vast amount of work being conducted in the orthopaedic tissue engineering arena.  Not surprising to us, there were many presentations on the use of MSCs for musculoskeletal tissue repair and regeneration.  Below is some of the MSC research that caught our eye.


ORS 2014 abstracts can be downloaded here.
Orthopaedics, Image from: http://healthcare.utah.edu/orthopaedics/images/body_skeleton.png.

Tissue Engineered Periosteum Approaches to Heal Bone Allograft Transplants 
  • Michael Hoffman, Benoit Lab, University of Rochester
  • Transplantation of decellularized bone allografts seeded with both undifferentiated MSCs and MSCs differentiated to the osteogenic lineage lead to modulation of VEGF production and an increase in BMP2 production that resulted in an increase in torsional biomechanical graft host stability and rate of endochondral ossification compared to allograft alone and allograft seeded with undifferentiated MSCs alone.
  • A related publication can be found here.

Anatomically Shaped, Vascularized Bone Grafts for Craniomaxillofacial Reconstruction
  • Joshua Temple, Grayson Lab, Johns Hopkins University
  • 3D printed porous scaffolds with correct anatomical features were successfully created to regenerate complex craniofacial deformities. Scaffolds containing adipose MSC aggregates formed extensive vascular networks as well as bone.  Implanted scaffolds demonstrated patent human vasculature and bone formation.
  • A related publication can be found here.

Anatomic Hypertrophic Cartilaginous Grafts For Whole Bone Tissue Engineering
  • Eamon Sheehy, Kelly Lab, Trinity College, Dublin
  • Alginate, chitosan and fibrin hydrogels seeded with MSCs were investigated for bone formation through endochondral ossification.  While all constructs underwent robust chondrogenesis in vitro, alginate supported the greatest degree of endochondral bone formation in vivo, with the establishment of a hematopoietic marrow component with evidence of blood vessel infiltration. Subsequently, anatomically correct, MSC-seeded alginate hydrogels were used as the osseous layer of an engineered phalanx construct, which successfully underwent spatially regulated endochondral ossification in vivo.
  • A related publication can be found here.