Bovine bone morphogenetic protein (bBMP) induced repair of skull trephine defects in sheep

An aggregate of partially purified bovine bone morphogenetic protein (bBMP) and bone matrix insoluble noncollagenous proteins (iNCP), weighing a total of 100 mg of lyophilized BMP/iNCP, was implanted using ultra thin gelatin capsules in skull trephine defects in adult sheep. One hundred milligram samples of freeze-dried bovine serum albumin (BSA) were similarly implanted for controls. In five sheep, the capsules were implanted in 18-20 mm trephine skull defects and also in posterior cervical muscle pouches for heterotopic controls. In two out of five sheep, the trephines were repaired with bone as early as four weeks after the operation. Eight to 12 weeks after surgery repair was complete in the other three sheep. In the control contralateral trephines, one-third to one-half of the defect was incompletely repaired. Neither the BMP nor the BSA control implants induced bone formation in the muscle. While the BMP/iNCP prepared from bovine bone consistently induced regeneration in skull trephine defects, only fibrous tissue and no extraskeletal bone was induced to form in cervical muscle pouches in sheep.