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Original Article Plastic and Aesthetic Research

Tissue engineering using mesenchymal

stem cells with periosteal wrap for bone

defect repair in rabbits

Trung-Hau Lê Thua , Dang-Nhat Pham , Khanh-Linh Lê , Minh-Tuan Lê ,
1
1
1
1
Quang-Ton-Quyen Nguyen , Phan-Huy Nguyen , Ngoc-Vu Tran , Ngoc-Luong Nguyen ,
3
2
1
1
Willy Boeckx , Albert Demey 4
4
1 Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Center of Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery, Hue Central Hospital, Hue City 531120,
Vietnam.
2 Department of Hematology, Hue Central Hospital, Hue City 531120, Vietnam.
3 Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Hue University, Hue City 521120, Vietnam.
4 Department of Plastic Surgery, Brugmann University Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles, 1020 Brussels, Belgium.
Address for correspondence: Dr. Trung-Hau Lê Thua, Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Center of Orthopaedic and
Plastic Surgery, Hue Central Hospital, Hue City 531120, Vietnam. E-mail: donabirini@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Aim: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an excellent potential source of cells for bone tissue engineering
due to their excellent renewal ability and osteogenic differentiation capabilities. This study was designed to
evaluate the bone formation properties of a demineralized cancellous bone scaffold seeded with MSCs, with
or without periosteum, in a critical size bone defect model in rabbits. Methods: Rabbit culture-expanded
bone marrow (BM)-MSCs were seeded onto a human demineralized cancellous bone (HDCB) scaffold.
Bone defects measuring 15 mm in length were created in each radius. A total of 56 bone defects in 28
rabbits were randomly assigned to one of the 4 groups for scaffold implantation: Group 1: HDCB graft
only; Group 2: periosteum-wrapped HDCB graft; Group 3: HDCB graft seeded with BM-MSCs and
Group 4: periosteum-wrapped HDCB graft seeded with BM-MSCs. All rabbits were sacrificed 12 weeks
after surgery for gross observation, radiological assessment, histological analyses and biomechanical
measurements. Results: New bone (NB) formation and bone healing were successfully achieved, both
radiologically and histologically, on demineralized cancellous bone graft seeded with BM-MSCs. Results
were improved when BM-MSCs were associated with periosteum. Conclusion: This study demonstrates
that repair of bone defects in a rabbit model can be achieved through bone grafting using BM-MSCs,
implanted on a demineralized cancellous bone scaffold. The formation of NB was optimized when
combined with the preservation of periosteum at the site of injury.

Key words:
Bone defects, bone marrow, bone tissue engineering, mesenchymal stem cells, periosteum

INTRODUCTION most desirable material for bone repair is autologous bone
graft, due to its excellent osteoconduction, osteoinduction
Despite numerous advances in orthopedic and plastic
surgery, the repair of bone defects remains challenging. The This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
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Website:
www.parjournal.net
How to cite this article: Lê Thua TH, Pham DN, Lê KL, Lê MT,
Nguyen QT, Nguyen PH, Tran NV, Nguyen NL, Boeckx W, Demey A.
Tissue engineering using mesenchymal stem cells with periosteal wrap
DOI:
10.4103/2347-9264.169497 for bone defect repair in rabbits. Plast Aesthet Res 2015;2:340-5.
Received: 04-04-2015; Accepted: 06-09-2015
340 © 2015 Plastic and Aesthetic Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer ‑ Medknow