Vascular endothelial growth factor and biphasic calcium phosphate in the endosseous healing of femoral defects: An experimental rat study

Abstract

Background/purpose The presence of adequate bone volume is a critical factor in rehabilitative dentistry. Despite the use of many promising alloplasts, success in stimulating bone formation has been limited, mostly due to poor local biological response. Growth factors have been introduced to stimulate angiogenesis and new bone formation. This histologic and histomorphometric study aimed to evaluate the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and a biphasic alloplastic graft material (BA) on the healing of endosseous defects in rats. Materials and methods Twenty male Wistar rats were used. Two critical-sized bone defects were created in both the right and left femurs of each rat. Each defect was randomly assigned to be treated with VEGF, BA, or VEGF + BA, or to be left empty as a control. Half of the animals were sacrificed after 1 week, and the remaining half were sacrificed after 2 weeks. Inflammation, necrosis, and new bone areas were evaluated by means of histologic and histomorphometric analyses. Results Compared to the control group, defects treated with VEGF alone or in combination with BA showed higher rates of bone formation (33.10–46.60%) on Day 7. Additionally, VEGF significantly reduced inflammation and necrosis (P < 0.001). However, the differences were no longer discernable on Day 14. Conclusion VEGF makes a significant contribution to angiogenesis and osteogenesis in the early stages of bone defect healing, and its combination with an osteoconductive grafting material (BA) may further enhance new bone formation.

Assessment of rhBMP-2-loaded bovine hydroxyapatite granules in the guided bone regeneration of critical bone defect in rat mandible bone

“… 13 Neovascularisation through specific paracrine pathways leads to the formation of angiogenic growth factors, producing more osteoblasts and BMP-2 through two-way coupling. 14 This prompts a crucial initial angiogenesis in the osteogenesis. 15 BMP-2 is therefore the most effective inductor in the differentiation of osteoblast bone formation, and it regulates the activation of the BMP-2/Smad/RUNX2 signalling pathway, increasing the RUNX2 expression, 12 which is an important transcription factor in the differentiation of osteoblasts.…”

The advances in nanomedicine for bone and cartilage repair

“…Impressively, the introduction of BMP-2 loading also improved the degradation efficiency of BCP and enhanced its biocompatibility [ 70 ]. Similarly, growth factors represented by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were also loaded on CaP NPs to promote bone defect repair and local vascular regeneration [ 71 – 73 ].…”