Heparan sulfate-based treatments for regenerative medicine

This review summarizes the emerging strategies that exploit the glycosaminoglycan sugar, heparan sulfate (HS), either as a substitute for, or as a supplement to growth factor (GF) therapy for regenerative medicine. Excluding autograft, the administration of GFs is currently the most effective treatment for critical bone repair and restoration. However, major hurdles in the clinical development of GF therapies include the high cost, the unwanted side effects, and the toxicity associated with the physiological overdosing required to achieve a successful outcome. These drawbacks may be overcome with the application of particular HS fractions that have been optimized to bind, recruit and enhance the biological activity of endogenous GF at the site of injury. Three HS-based treatments are discussed here: first, the single, localized, and sustained delivery of HS as a stand-alone therapeutic agent; then, the inclusion of an HS component within a delivery device so as to stabilize and potentiate the bioactivity of the incorporated GF; and finally, the growing use of HS mimetics, particularly for bone repair.