Collagen-phagocytosing ability of periodontal osteoblasts at the bone surface. (1/317)

The collagen-phagocytosing activity of osteoblasts at the alveolar bone-ligament interface of rat mandibular first molars was investigated both histologically and histochemically. Alveolar bones of male Wistar rats (6 months old) were used in this study. Collagen-containing phagosomes appeared in cuboidal osteoblasts aligned on the bone surface. The 5.7% of the osteoblasts exhibiting alkaline phosphatase activity revealed collagen-containing phagosomes, and the collagen fibrils within the phagosomes were at various stages of degradation. In addition, acid phosphatase activity and the immunocytochemical distribution of cathepsin B were found in these collagen-containing phagosomes at similar locations. The presence of both enzymes in the phagosomes suggests that an intracellular degradation of collagen occurs. Therefore, in addition to the osteoblastic functions of synthesizing and secreting bone matrices, osteoblasts are also capable of phagocytosis and the intracellular disintegration of collagen. Our findings suggest that osteoblasts at the alveolar bone-periodontal ligament interface have a collagen-phagocytosing ability and play an important role in the physiological remodeling and metabolic breakdown of collagen fibrils of periodontal ligament without osteoclastic bone remodeling.  (+info)

Expression of human bone morphogenic protein 7 in primary rabbit periosteal cells: potential utility in gene therapy for osteochondral repair. (2/317)

A commonly encountered problem in orthopedics is bone and cartilage tissue injury which heals incompletely or without full structural integrity. This necessitates development of improved methods for treatment of injuries which are not amenable to treatment using current therapies. An already large and growing number of growth factors which play significant roles in bone remodeling and repair have been identified in the past few years. It is well established that bone morphogenic proteins induce the production of new bone and cartilage. An efficient method of delivery of these growth factors by conventional pharmacological means has yet to be elucidated. We wished to evaluate the use of retroviral vector-mediated gene transfer to deliver genes of therapeutic relevance for bone and cartilage repair. To determine the feasibility of using amphotropically packaged retroviral vectors to transduce primary rabbit mesenchymal stem cells of periosteal origin, primary periosteal cells were isolated from New Zealand white rabbits, transduced in vitro with a retroviral vector bearing both the nuclear localized lacZ marker gene and the neo(r) gene, and selected in G418. We used a convenient model for analysis of in vivo stability of these cells which were seeded on to polymer scaffold grafts and implanted into rabbit femoral osteochondral defects. The nuclear localized beta-galactosidase protein was expressed in essentially 100% of selected cells in vitro and was observed in the experimental explants from animals after both 4 and 8 weeks in vivo, while cells transduced with a retroviral vector bearing only the neo(r) gene in negative control explants showed no blue staining. We extended our study by delivering a gene of therapeutic relevance, human bone morphogenic protein 7 (hBMP-7), to primary periosteal cells via retroviral vector. The hBMP-7 gene was cloned from human kidney 293 cell total RNA by RT-PCR into a retroviral vector under control of the CMV enhancer/promoter. Hydroxyapatite secretion, presumably caused by overexpression of hBMP-7, was observed on the surface of the transduced and selected periosteal cells, however, this level of expression was toxic to both PA317 producer and primary periosteal cells. Subsequently, the strong CMV enhancer/promoter driving the hBMP-7 gene was replaced in the retroviral vector by a weaker enhancer/promoter from the rat beta-actin gene. Nontoxic levels of expression of hBMP-7 were confirmed at both the RNA and protein levels in PA317 producer and primary periosteal cell lines and cell supernatants. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using a gene therapy approach in attempts to promote bone and cartilage tissue repair using gene-modified periosteal cells on grafts.  (+info)

Differential patterns of altered bone formation in different bone compartments in established osteoporosis. (3/317)

AIM: To investigate the level of bone formation in the different bone compartments in cases of established osteoporosis, as previous work has concentrated on trabecular bone alone. METHODS: Bone formation rates were measured histomorphometrically, in the periosteal (P), cortical (C), subcortical (SC), and trabecular (T) compartments in iliac crest biopsies from 159 patients with established osteoporosis. The values were standardised using age and sex matched control data and patterns of differential change determined by analysis of parametric status (increased, normal, reduced). RESULTS: Mean bone formation was reduced in all four compartments. This was more marked (4.4/4.1 standard deviations below the mean in C/T, v 2.3/0.9 in P/SC) and more frequent (reduced in 81.5%/78.3% in T/C, v 43.3%/44% in P/SC) in the trabecular and cortical compartments than in the periosteal or subcortical bone. Parametric status was equal in trabecular and cortical bone in 85.4% of cases, and in periosteal and subcortical bone in 65.7%, but in all four compartments in only 35.1%, indicating differential alteration of bone formation in the two sets of compartments (T/C v P/SC). CONCLUSIONS: Altered trabecular bone formation is important in osteoporosis, but there are differential patterns of alteration in the other three compartments, emphasising the presence of different microenvironments in bone; thus the effect on the cortical compartment was similar to that on the trabecular, while the subcortical and periosteal compartments also showed linkage. The linkage between the two pairs was divergent, indicating different control of bone formation, with resultant different patterns of perturbation in osteoporosis.  (+info)

Implanted octacalcium phosphate (OCP) stimulates osteogenesis by osteoblastic cells and/or committed osteoprogenitors in rat calvarial periosteum. (4/317)

Our previous studies demonstrated that the octacalcium phosphate (OCP) causes new appositional bone formation on the OCP when implanted into the subperiosteal region of murine calvaria. The OCP may stimulate the cell population committed to the osteoblastic differentiation in the periosteum and have them express the phenotype. The present study was designed to investigate which periosteal cell population is involved in bone formation on the OCP with applying the OCP implants on top of and underneath the periosteum. The periosteum of the rat parietal bones was flapped and the OCP was implanted on top of or underneath the periosteum, in which the implantation sites were defined using the membrane filter. The histology was examined to see if new appositional bone formation occurs on the OCP implant under each condition. New bone was deposited on the OCP on the bone surface separated from the periosteum by the filter, whereas no bone was formed either under the periosteum separated from the bone surface by the filter or on the periosteum. The present study suggests that the OCP acts on osteoblasts, bone lining cells and/or their closely committed progenitors on the bone surface to express the phenotype and deposit new bone on the OCP implant.  (+info)

N-CAM is not required for initiation of secondary chondrogenesis: the role of N-CAM in skeletal condensation and differentiation. (5/317)

Condensation precedes chondrogenic differentiation during development of primary cartilage. While neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM) enhances condensation, it is unclear whether N-CAM is also required for initiation of chondrogenic differentiation. In this study, the role of N-CAM in secondary chondrogenesis from periosteal cells of the quadratojugal (QJ) from embryonic chicks was studied using several in vitro approaches. The QJ is a membrane bone and so is not preceded by cartilage formation during development. However, QJ periosteal cells can differentiate into chondrocytes to form secondary cartilage in vivo. When QJ periosteal cells were enzymatically released and plated in low density monolayer, clonal or agarose cultures, chondrogenesis was initiated in the absence of N-CAM expression. Furthermore, overexpression of the N-CAM gene in periosteal cells in monolayer culture significantly reduced the number of chondrocyte colonies, suggesting that N-CAM inhibits secondary chondrogenesis. In contrast, and consistent with expression in vivo, N-CAM is expressed during osteogenesis from QJ periosteal cells and mandibular mesenchyme in vitro. These results are discussed in relation to the role of N-CAM in osteogenesis and in primary and secondary condensation.  (+info)

Color Doppler ultrasonographic evaluation of osteomyelitis in children. (6/317)

We investigated the capability of color Doppler sonography in evaluating acute osteomyelitis in children. Twelve children suspected of having osteomyelitis were evaluated with color Doppler ultrasonography at admission and at regular intervals to observe the inflammatory process of osteomyelitis, determine the response of antibiotic therapy, and predict the need of surgery in these patients. At admission, color Doppler flow within or around the infected periosteum was found in patients with symptoms for 4 days or longer, whereas those with symptoms for less than 4 days showed no color Doppler flow within and around the periosteum. During sonographic follow-up, six cases were found to have increased color Doppler vascular flow within and around the affected periosteum, and two of them had periosteal abscess. They eventually required surgical treatment. Persistent or increased color Doppler flow during follow-up examination correlated with elevated serum levels of C-reactive protein as well. Our study indicated that color Doppler vascular flow within or around the infected periosteum correlated with advanced acute osteomyelitis, and surgery usually was required in these patients. Those with early stage acute osteomyelitis usually showed no vascular flow within or around the infected periosteum. Thus, color Doppler sonography allowed detection of advanced osteomyelitis and revealed the progression of inflammation during antibiotic therapy. Color Doppler ultrasonography might be valuable in determining the efficacy of antibiotic therapy and justifying the need for operation.  (+info)

Developmental changes in the transmitter properties of sympathetic neurons that innervate the periosteum. (7/317)

During the development of sweat gland innervation, interactions with the target tissue induce a change from noradrenergic to cholinergic and peptidergic properties. To determine whether the change in neurotransmitter properties that occurs in the sweat gland innervation occurs more generally in sympathetic neurons, we identified a new target of cholinergic sympathetic neurons in rat, the periosteum, which is the connective tissue covering of bone, and characterized the development of periosteal innervation of the sternum. During development, sympathetic axons grow from thoracic sympathetic ganglia along rib periosteum to reach the sternum. All sympathetic axons displayed catecholaminergic properties when they reached the sternum, but these properties subsequently disappeared. Many axons lacked detectable immunoreactivities for vesicular acetylcholine transporter and vasoactive intestinal peptide when they reached the sternum and acquired them after arrival. To determine whether periosteum could direct changes in the neurotransmitter properties of sympathetic neurons that innervate it, we transplanted periosteum to the hairy skin, a noradrenergic sympathetic target. We found that the sympathetic innervation of the transplant underwent a noradrenergic to cholinergic and peptidergic change. These results suggest that periosteum, in addition to sweat glands, regulates the neurotransmitter properties of the sympathetic neurons that innervate it.  (+info)

Chronic, traumatic intraconal hematic cyst of the orbit removed through the fronto-orbital approach--case report. (8/317)

A 22-year-old male presented with a chronic encapsulated intraorbital hematoma 3 months after blunt trauma to his left eyeball. Ophthalmological examination found the best corrected visual acuity was 4/20 in the left eye, and 20/20 in the right eye. The orbit exhibited exophthalmus and inability of the eye to move above the horizontal level. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging showed a fairly well-demarcated area in the medial aspect of the orbit appearing as hyperintense on T1-weighted images and isoto hyperintense on T2-weighted images. This area was believed to be hemorrhage. No other abnormalities were found. The diagnosis was hematic cyst. The cyst was approached through a left fronto-orbital route and its location identified within the periorbita and orbital fat. The cyst was removed partially. Histological examination demonstrated cystic accumulation of blood and breakdown products in a non-epithelium-lined fibrous capsule, compatible with hematic cyst. The presence of hemosiderin in the cyst wall suggested that the cyst was a chronically enlarging lesion. Hematic cysts of the orbit usually present as subperiosteal mass months to years after trauma. Surgical removal of the cyst wall rather than needle aspiration is recommended to prevent recurrence.  (+info)