Bone regeneration of canine artificial alveolar clefts using bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells and β-tricalcium phosphate: A preliminary study

Objective: Cleft lip and palate is a congenital disease showing the highest incidence in the maxillofacial field. In this study, bone regeneration in the canine artificial alveolar clefts using bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) was attempted.Methods: Artificial clefts were prepared in 2-year-old dogs and the animals were divided into three groups. Canine MSCs cultured on beta-TCP were grafted in the MSCs/beta-TCP group. beta-TCP without cells was grafted in the beta-TCP group. Nothing was grafted in the control group.Results: Serial X-ray photographs showed that absorption of beta-TCP and substitution with bone progressed favorably and regenerated bone had smooth continuity with the surrounding bone in the MSCs/beta-TCP group. In contrast, a bone defect remained at 13 weeks after the cleft formation in the other two groups. Bone mineral density of regenerated bone in the MSCs/bTCP group was between the density of normal bone and that of beta-TCP. Bone mineral content of the cleft region in the MSCs/beta-TCP group was three times higher than that in the other two groups. Histologically, the artificial bone in the MSCs/beta-TCP group showed replacement with bone. In the control group, most of the cleft region was filled with fibrous tissue.Conclusions: Bone regeneration using MSCs and beta-TCP presents the possibility of a lessinvasive new approach to alveolar bone reconstruction. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and the Japanese Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved.