Heterotopic ossification (HO) is defined as the formation of ectopic bone in soft tissue outside the skeletal tissue. HO is thought to result from aberrant differentiation of osteogenic progenitors within skeletal muscle. However, the precise origin of HO is still unclear. Skeletal muscle contains two kinds of progenitor cells, myogenic progenitors and mesenchymal progenitors. Myogenic and mesenchymal progenitors in human skeletal muscle can be identified as CD56+ and PDGFRα+ cells, respectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the osteogenic differentiation potential of human skeletal muscle-derived progenitors. Both CD56+ cells and PDGFRα+ cells showed comparable osteogenic differentiation potential in vitro. However, in an in vivo ectopic bone formation model, PDGFRα+ cells formed bone-like tissue and showed successful engraftment, while CD56+ cells did not form bone-like tissue and did not adapt to an osteogenic environment. Immunohistological analysis of human HO sample revealed that many PDGFRα+ cells were localized in proximity to ectopic bone formed in skeletal muscle. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to regulate many biological processes including osteogenic differentiation. We investigated the participation of miRNAs in the osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells by using microarray. We identified miRNAs that had not been known to be involved in osteogenesis but showed dramatic changes during osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells. Upregulation of miR-146b-5p and -424 and downregulation of miR-7 during osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells were confirmed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Inhibition of upregulated miRNAs, miR-146b-5p and -424, resulted in the suppression of osteocyte maturation, suggesting that these two miRNAs have the positive role in the osteogenesis of PDGFRα+ cells. Our results suggest that PDGFRα+ cells may be the major source of HO and that the newly identified miRNAs may regulate osteogenic differentiation process of PDGFRα+ cells.

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is caused by trauma, neurogenic insults, and genetic disorders. Recent detailed analyses have revealed a cellular origin for ectopic bone formation as novel mesenchymal progenitors. The differentiation of these into osteogenic lineages is induced by a pathological microenvironment in soft tissues outside the skeletal tissue, which includes inflammation. Multiple therapeutic strategies for preventing ectopic bone formation have recently emerged, including inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein signaling and retinoid signaling.

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BackgroundPreserving the hip joint to delay arthroplasty for patients with acetabular dysplasia-associated early-stage osteoarthritis has become more common, and several surgical procedures have demonstrated pain relief and improved hip joint function. Periacetabular osteotomy, one of the joint-preserving surgical procedures of the hip, provides favorable outcomes, although there are no reports of total hip arthroplasty being used to treat pseudoarthrosis of the periacetabular osteotomy segment. Therefore, we report a case of pseudoarthrosis in the osteotomy segment after periacetabular osteotomy. The patient was treated using modified total hip arthroplasty and achieved a favorable short-term outcome.Case presentationA 62-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with bilateral acetabular dysplasia at the age of 50 years, and underwent right and left periacetabular osteotomy at the ages of 52 and 55 years, respectively. When she was 61-years old, she experienced repeated episodes of left coxalgia during walking, with increasing pain at rest, and subsequently visited our department. Plain radiography and computed tomography of her left hip joint confirmed pseudoarthrosis of the periacetabular osteotomy segment. In addition, narrowing of her left hip joint space was observed, which indicated advanced osteoarthritis of the hip. Therefore, she underwent left total hip arthroplasty when she was 62-years old. During the surgery, fibrous fusion of the periacetabular osteotomy segment was confirmed via fluoroscopy, although no abnormal mobility was observed. Thus, the osteotomy segment was fixed with one absorbable screw and two bone pegs (which were prepared using allogeneic bone), and the acetabular cup was fixed using cement. Her postoperative course was generally favorable and bone fusion of the periacetabular osteotomy segment was confirmed at 3 years and 6 months after surgery. Her modified Harris hip score was 43 before the surgery and had improved to 90 at the final follow-up.ConclusionsModified total hip arthroplasty was successfully used to treat osteoarthritis of the hip and pseudoarthrosis of the periacetabular osteotomy segment. This procedure achieved pseudoarthrosis region bone fusion and a favorable postoperative outcome.