Image-based extracorporeal tissue engineering of individualized bone constructs.
OBJECTIVE
Computer-aided technologies have been recently employed for use in extracorporeal bone tissue engineering strategies. In this pilot animal experimental study, the intention was to test whether autologous osteoblast-like cells cultured in vitro on individualized scaffolds can be used to support bone regeneration in a clinical environment.


METHODS
For this purpose, mandibular bone defects were surgically introduced into the mandibles of minipigs and the scaffold of the defect site was modeled by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technique. Autologous bone cells from porcine calvaria were harvested from minipigs and grown in culture. Cells were seeded on scaffolds generated by rapid prototyping of polylactic acid/polyglycolic acid copolymers. The defects were then reconstructed by implanting the tissue constructs.


RESULTS
The intraoperative sites as well as the postoperative computerized tomographic scans demonstrated an accurate fit in the defect sites. The implanted scaffold constructs enriched with osteoblast-like cells were well tolerated and appeared to support bone formation, as revealed by histologic and immunohistochemical analyses.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicated that in vitro expanded osteoblast-like cells spread on a resorbable individualized scaffold can be capable of promoting the repair of bony defects in vivo.


CONCLUSIONS
These results warrant further attempts to combine computer modeling and tissue engineering for use in bone reconstructive surgery.
Meyer
Ulrich
U
Clinic for Maxillofacial and Plastic Facial Surgery, University of Düsseldorf, Germany. ulrich.meyer@med.uni-dusseldorf.de
Büchter
Andre
A
Hohoff
Ariane
A
Stoffels
Elke
E
Szuwart
Thomas
T
Runte
Christoph
C
Dirksen
Dieter
D
Wiesmann
Hans-Peter
HP
D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D018786:Bone Substitutes