A Bone to Pick

A new tissue-engineering method tricks the body into growing its own bone grafts.

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

© 2005 National Academy of Sciences

A new tissue-engineering method tricks the body into growing its own bone grafts. Unlike traditional techniques, the method requires neither the transplantation of cells nor growth factors.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Molly Stevens and colleagues injected a calcium alginate gel into the confined space between the bone and the periosteum (the connective tissue surrounding bone) in the tibia of New Zealand White rabbits.1 They not only demonstrated that new bone formed in the space within six weeks but also that the new bone had the same mechanical and histological properties as endogenous bone.

Coauthor Prasad Shastri of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., says the team chose the periosteum as a bioreactor site because it included all prerequisites for tissue engineering – including periosteal cells, growth factors, and vascularization. And, the alginate gel provided a good source of calcium for bone formation. "We only had ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Sarah Rothman

    This person does not yet have a bio.

Published In

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio