Bone formation in CaP-coated and noncoated titanium fiber mesh

The osteogenic activity of calcium phosphate (CaP)-coated and noncoated porous titanium (Ti) fiber mesh loaded with cultured syngeneic osteogenic cells after prolonged in situ culturing was compared in a syngeneic rat ectopic assay model. Rat bone marrow (RBM) cells were loaded onto the CaP-coated and noncoated Ti scaffolds using either a droplet or a suspension loading method. After loading, the RBM cells were cultured for 8 days in vitro. Thereafter, implants were subcutaneously placed in 39 syngeneic rats. The rats were euthanized and the implants retrieved at 2, 4, and 8 weeks postoperatively. Further, in the 8 week group fluorochrome bone markers were injected at 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Histological analysis demonstrated that only the CaP-coated meshes supported bone formation. The amount of newly formed bone varied between single and multiple spheres to filling a significant part of the mesh porosity. In the newly formed bone, osteocytes embedded in a mineralized matrix could be observed clearly. On the other hand, in the noncoated titanium implants, abundant deposition of calcium-containing material was seen. This deposit lacked a bonelike tissue organization. Further analysis revealed that the cell-loading method did not influence the final amount of bone formation. In CaP-coated implants the accumulation sequence of the fluorochrome markers showed that bone formation started on the mesh fibers. In conclusion, our results prove that the combination of a thin CaP coating, Ti-mesh, and RBM cells can indeed generate ectopic bone formation after prolonged in vitro culturing. No effect of the loading method was observed on the final amount of bone.