High doses of OP-1 inhibit fibrous tissue ingrowth in impaction grafting

A major concern in using growth factors in impaction grafting is the potential stimulation of the osteoclastic lineage. A solution would be using an osteoconductive material resistant to resorption and providing initial stability after reconstruction. Growth factors may promote bone formation in combination with such graft materials. We determined whether OP-1 would promote the incorporation of impacted morselized allografts and tricalcium phosphate/hydroxyapatite (TCP/HA) into host bone, whether bone formation would be preceded by an initial process of accelerated resorption, and whether the response to OP-1 remodeling/incorporation would be dose-related. We performed two bone chamber studies in goats to ascertain the early effects of OP-1 dose on resorption and incorporation of impacted morselized allografts and TCP/HA. After 4 weeks, the incorporation process of impacted morselized allografts and TCP/HA was not promoted by OP-1. We observed no signs of accelerated resorption preceding bone formation. An increase in OP-1 dose resulted in an inhibition of fibrous tissue formation but OP-1 did not promote bone formation. Early failures in impaction grafting, using mixes with OP-1, might be explained by the lack of fibrous tissue ingrowth and not by increased resorption and remodeling.