Localized delivery of growth factors for angiogenesis and bone formation in tissue engineering

Angiogenesis is a key component of bone formation. Delivery of growth factors for both angiogenesis and osteogenesis is about to gain important potential as a future therapeutic tool. This review focuses on these growth factors that have dual functions in angiogenesis and osteogenesis, and their localized application. A major hurdle in the clinical development of growth factor therapy so far is how to assure safe and efficacious therapeutic use of such factors and avoid unwanted side effects and toxicity. It is now firmly established from the available information that the type, dose, combinations and delivery kinetics of growth factors all play a decisive role for the success of growth factor therapy. All of these parameters have to be adapted and optimized for each animal model or clinical case. In this review we discuss some important parameters associated with growth factor therapy and present an overview of selected preclinical studies, followed by a conceptual description of both established and proposed delivery strategies meeting therapeutic needs.