TISSUE ENGINEERING AND BIOMATERIALS LAB
Director: Prof. Giuseppe M. Peretti
Research Topics
New strategies to improve bone remodeling in vivo
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Hip arthroplasty represents one of the most common surgery in the orthopaedic field and it represents the definitive treatment for osteoarthritis or hip dysplasia. The osteointegration between the implant and the surrounding bone is crucial for a successful surgery: osteointegration is mainly due to new bone formation between the prosthesis and the bone (bone ingrowth). Thus, the quality of bone (bone-stock) at the level of the proximal femur and the acetabulum is essential to obtain an adequate osteointegration. In some cases of first implant, bone-stock is insufficient due to comorbidities (i.e. osteoporosis); whereas bone-stock is often scarce in case of revision arthroplasties due to aseptic mobilization of the implant. Gold standard techniques to improve bone-stock require the use of autologous bone grafts. However, scientific evidences on the effect of bone harvesting site on the osteogenic potential of multipotent mesenchymal cells are still lacking. Thus, the aim of our project is to characterize and compare mesenchymal stem cells harvested from the subchondral bone of acetabulum, from the trabecular bone of the femoral head or from the bone marrow of the proximal femur.
This study will allow us to identify differences in the osteogenic potential between MSCs
harvested from different site and, therefore, we will be able to choose the best harvesting site to improve the bone-stock during hip arthroplasty.