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Updated: Mar 22, 2026
A Minimally Invasive Model to Analyze Endochondral Fracture Healing in Mice Under Standardized Biomechanical Conditions
Published on: March 22, 2018
Antagonizing midkine accelerates fracture healing in mice by enhanced bone formation in the fracture callus
Melanie Haffner-Luntzer1, Aline Heilmann1, Anna Elise Rapp1
1Institute of Orthopedic Research and Biomechanics, University Medical Center Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Background And Purpose:
Previous findings suggest that the growth and differentiation factor midkine (Mdk) is a negative regulator of osteoblast activity and bone formation, thereby raising the possibility that a specific Mdk antagonist might improve bone formation during fracture healing.
Experimental Approach:
In the present study, we investigated the effects of a monoclonal anti-Mdk antibody (Mdk-Ab) on bone healing using a standardized femur osteotomy model in mice. Additional in vitro experiments using chondroprogenitor and preosteoblastic cells were conducted to analyse the effects of recombinant Mdk and Mdk-Ab on differentiation markers and potential binding partners in these cells.
Key Results:
We demonstrated that treatment with Mdk-Ab accelerated bone healing in mice based on increased bone formation in the fracture callus. In vitro experiments using preosteoblastic cells showed that Mdk-Ab treatment abolished the Mdk-induced negative effects on the expression of osteogenic markers and Wnt/β-catenin target proteins, whereas the differentiation of chondroprogenitor cells was unaffected. Phosphorylation analyses revealed an important role for the low-density lipoproteinLDL receptor-related protein 6 in Mdk signalling in osteoblasts.
Conclusions And Implications:
We conclude that Mdk-Ab treatment may be a potential novel therapeutic strategy to enhance fracture healing in patients with orthopaedic complications such as delayed healing or non-union formation.
