Bone and soft tissue regeneration by bone marrow mesenchymal cells

Culture of bone marrow blood produces bone marrow mesenchymal cells that adhere to the bottom of the culture dish. These cells are known to include cells that can differentiate in various directions. Culturing these marrow mesenchymal cells with differentiation factors and biomaterials can achieve regeneration of bone and soft tissue. The present study showed that culture of marrow mesenchymal cells with porous artificial bone material in an osteogenic culture medium containing dexamethasone could produce new bone tissue on the artificial material. This bio-artificial bone graft substitute could effectively regenerate bone tissue when it was implanted in vivo. Porous artificial bone material treated with a small amount of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and perfused with marrow mesenchymal cells also markedly stimulated bone regeneration by the interaction between the cells and BMP. Similarly, when an artificial dermis made of collagen sponge was perfused with marrow mesenchymal cells and used to cover a skin defect, the regeneration of blood vessels was stimulated. Since the present results demonstrated the ability of marrow mesenchymal cells to regenerate bone and soft tissue, these cells are expected to be useful for tissue regeneration therapy.