49

Projektleiter:

Dr. Maik Stiehler

Projektlaufzeit:

01.04.2016 - 31.03.2018

Projektbeschreibung:

Bone defects denote a major socioeconomic issue. Critical-size osseous defects may arise from trauma, tumor resection, infection, degenerative joint disease, periprosthetic bone loss or congenital deformities. Autologous bone grafting as the golden standard for the treatment of extended bone defects provides both bone precursor cells, growth factors and a structural scaffold for site-specific bone regeneration. However, autologous bone grafting is associated with donor site-morbidity (e.g., neurovascular injury, haematoma, fracture, and infection) in up to 30 % of the patients and does not provide unlimited amounts of bone graft material (especially in older and/or patients with osteoporosis).

In this context, the concept of bone tissue engineering including the combination of stem cells, scaffold materials and differentiation stimuli, represents an innovative, cell-based strategy for effective bone regeneration. Currently, numerous bone implant materials as well as methods for the regeneration of bone and vascular tissue are being developed. However, at date the therapy of extended bone defects with biodegradable implants is critical because a sufficient supply with nutrients and oxygen during the initial phase after implantation is inhibited by lack of vascularization. While cells can be kept alive also in large, porous and three-dimensional scaffolds over weeks with the methods of perfusion culture, a vast amount of cells pre-seeded on a structural bone graft material are prone to apoptosis upon implantation because of the above mentioned lack of initial vascular sufficient supply.

In this project an already successfully in vitro tested fully tissue-engineered vascularized bone implant connectable to the host vascular system of the recipient will be evaluated in a large animal in vivo model concerning bone regeneration of a critical size defect.

Projektbearbeiterin:

Dr. Corina Vater