SCS/BMP-2 Restores Arterialized Vasculature in Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteonecrosis
Excessive administration of glucocorticoids leads to arterial involvement and induces osteonecrosis. Conventional biomaterial-based strategies aimed at direct vascularization have shown limited therapeutic efficacy, primarily due to pronounced heterogeneity of neovasculature and vascular mispatterning. Here, we report a semi-synthetic sulfated chitosan (SCS) that, when combined with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), rapidly reconstructs arterialized vasculature (type H vessels and arterioles) within the deteriorated bone, thereby coupling active osteoprogenitor cells.