Promotion of bone formation by atelocollagen via VEGF induction

 Article information
Atelocollagen Enhanced Osteogenesis in a Geometric Structured Beta-TCP Scaffold by VEGF Induction.
Yagami K, Sadaoka S, Nakamura H, Komatsu S, Onodera J, et al. (2016) 
J Tissue Sci Eng 7:162.

Overview
Various bone substitute materials and osteogenesis-promoting factors have been developed and tested successfully in clinical applications, but the regenerated bones obtained using these techniques exhibit histological structures distinct from the normal bone formed by bone metabolism.

Additionally, the angiogenic supply of cytokines to osteoblastic progenitor cells is known to be important for proper bone formation.

Therefore, the authors investigated the effect of collagen on angiogenesis during osteogenesis by preparing a β-TCP scaffold with honeycomb pore structure coated with atelocollagen (AC-β-TCP).

hMSCs cultured with AC-β-TCP exhibited marked increases in the expression of collagen I, VEGF, and osteocalcin compared to control hMSCs cultured with uncoated β-TCP.

When both scaffolds were transplanted between the parietal bone and the periosteum of the rat, new bone formation (inside the pores) and bone density were higher in the AC-β-TCP group than in the control group.

Furthermore, it was suggested that AC-β-TCP promotes early vascularization and bone formation, as evidenced by VEGF expression and time course analysis of blood vessel area.