title: Building bone tissue: matrices and scaffolds in physiology and biotechnology.
abstract: Deposition of bone in physiology involves timed secretion, deposition and removal of a complex array of extracellular matrix proteins which appear in a defined temporal and spatial sequence. Mineralization itself plays a role in dictating and spatially orienting the deposition of matrix. Many aspects of the physiological process are recapitulated in systems of autologous or xenogeneic transplantation of osteogenic precursor cells developed for tissue engineering or modeling. For example, deposition of bone sialoprotein, a member of the small integrin-binding ligand, N-linked glycoprotein family, represents the first step of bone formation in ectopic transplantation systems in vivo. The use of mineralized scaffolds for guiding bone tissue engineering has revealed unexpected manners in which the scaffold and cells interact with each other, so that a complex interplay of integration and disintegration of the scaffold ultimately results in efficient and desirable, although unpredictable, effects. Likewise, the manner in which biomaterial scaffolds are "resorbed" by osteoclasts in vitro and in vivo highlights more complex scenarios than predicted from knowledge of physiological bone resorption per se. Investigation of novel biomaterials for bone engineering represents an essential area for the design of tissue engineering strategies.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Universita' dell'Aquila, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riminucci
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bianco
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D001846:Bone Development / Q000502:physiology*; D016723:Bone Remodeling / Q000502:physiology; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000502:physiology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes