this is from a study recently done regarding bone fractures and stem cells but you'll see from the excerpt that the key ingredient in healing is IGF.
scroll down for link to the article.
Stem cells that can become bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessel cells are found in adult bone marrow. Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can be obtained from a patient’s own bone marrow through a minimally invasive process (eg, a syringe aspirate), and just a few tablespoons of bone marrow can be all that is needed. Our study showed that in animals with a tibia fracture, MSC that have a potent cartilage/bone regenerative growth factor (IGF-I) are attracted to the fracture site and improve the healing process.
In addition to the possible reduction of immune response rejection, are there other benefits to the treatment approach you’ve taken?
Yes, the MSC producing IGF-I actually improved the fracture healing by increasing the bone and cartilage tissue bridging the bone gap. The mice in our study had better fracture healing than the control group.
Is it possible to transfect stem cells with the bone morphogenic protein gene to treat bone fractures?
Stem cells have been engineered to express bone-inducing proteins (eg, bone morphogenic proteins) and used in animals with fractures with some beneficial effects. In nonunion fractures, a failed attempt by the body to make the cartilage callus is the first step to bridge the fracture gap that will then be replaced by bone. Because IGF-I is a cartilage- and bone-inducing growth factor, we have decided to use MSC expressing IGF-I.
What results would be achieved by mixing centrifugate of bone marrow, growth factors, and banked bone?
I don’t have any personal experience with this kind of experiment. Direct injection of different growth factors has been attempted in nonunion fractures. A common issue associated with the use of locally applied growth factors to improve fracture healing is the transient residence and release time of the factor. Using stem cells as growth factor carriers would combine stem cell regenerative effects with growth factor bone/cartilage inductive actions by prolonging the local synthesis of these bioactive agents for the time needed for the healing.full article can be found at this link:
http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rID=31441
scroll down for link to the article.
Stem cells that can become bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, and blood vessel cells are found in adult bone marrow. Adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can be obtained from a patient’s own bone marrow through a minimally invasive process (eg, a syringe aspirate), and just a few tablespoons of bone marrow can be all that is needed. Our study showed that in animals with a tibia fracture, MSC that have a potent cartilage/bone regenerative growth factor (IGF-I) are attracted to the fracture site and improve the healing process.
In addition to the possible reduction of immune response rejection, are there other benefits to the treatment approach you’ve taken?
Yes, the MSC producing IGF-I actually improved the fracture healing by increasing the bone and cartilage tissue bridging the bone gap. The mice in our study had better fracture healing than the control group.
Is it possible to transfect stem cells with the bone morphogenic protein gene to treat bone fractures?
Stem cells have been engineered to express bone-inducing proteins (eg, bone morphogenic proteins) and used in animals with fractures with some beneficial effects. In nonunion fractures, a failed attempt by the body to make the cartilage callus is the first step to bridge the fracture gap that will then be replaced by bone. Because IGF-I is a cartilage- and bone-inducing growth factor, we have decided to use MSC expressing IGF-I.
What results would be achieved by mixing centrifugate of bone marrow, growth factors, and banked bone?
I don’t have any personal experience with this kind of experiment. Direct injection of different growth factors has been attempted in nonunion fractures. A common issue associated with the use of locally applied growth factors to improve fracture healing is the transient residence and release time of the factor. Using stem cells as growth factor carriers would combine stem cell regenerative effects with growth factor bone/cartilage inductive actions by prolonging the local synthesis of these bioactive agents for the time needed for the healing.
http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rID=31441
