New Bone-Implant Interaction Model to Evaluate Tissue Response to Biomaterials

An orthopedic implant is often used to replace a missing joint or bone or to support a damaged bone. There have been media reports of people having allergic reactions to the metals used in joint implants.To understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the interaction of bone with orthopedic implants comprised of novel biomaterials, researchers have made a mouse model in which they can assess early tissue responses to surfaces such as bioactive glass.

The ease of genetically modifying this mouse model makes it especially valuable in designing novel biomaterials for use in regenerative medicine, as describe in an article published in Tissue Engineering, Part C Methods, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

The article entitled "A Bone-Implant Interaction Mouse Model for Evaluating Molecular Mechanism of Biomaterials/Bone Interaction" is coauthored by Wenlong Liu and colleagues from Shenzen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. They present results demonstrating the feasibility and reliability of the mouse model using various biomaterials.

"This very accessible and elegant model brings the assessment of bone replacing biomaterial to a new level," says Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods Co-Editor-in-Chief John A. Jansen, Professor Dentistry - Biomaterials, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Source-Eurekalert