Role of embryonic origin on osteogenic potential and bone repair capacity of rat calvarial osteoblasts

• Published in: Journal of bone and mineral metabolism Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 481 - 490
• Main Authors: Souza, Alann Thaffarell Portilho, Lopes, Helena Bacha, Freitas, Gileade Pereira, Ferraz, Emanuela Prado, Oliveira, Fabiola Singaretti, Almeida, Adriana Luisa Gonçalves, Weffort, Denise, Beloti, Marcio Mateus, Rosa, Adalberto Luiz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01.07.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alkaline phosphatase; Animal models; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Biomarkers - metabolism; Bone growth; Bone healing; Bone sialoprotein; Bones; Cell Differentiation; Cell Proliferation - genetics; Cells, Cultured; Defects; Embryos; Extracellular matrix; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mesoderm; Metabolic Diseases; Mineralization; Neural crest; Original Article; Orthopedics; Osteoblastogenesis; Osteoblasts; Osteoblasts - cytology; Osteocalcin; Osteogenesis; Osteogenesis - genetics; Parietal bone; Rats, Wistar; Skull - embryology; Wound Healing - genetics; X-Ray Microtomography; Mesoderm; Osteoblast; Cell therapy; Bone; Neural crest
• ISSN: 0914-8779; 1435-5604
• DOI: 10.1007/s00774-020-01090-5

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro osteogenic potential of osteoblasts from neural crest-derived frontal bone (OB-NC) and mesoderm-derived parietal bone (OB-MS) and the bone formation induced by them when injected into calvarial defects. Materials and methods Calvarial bones were collected from newborn Wistar rats (3-day old) and characterized as frontal and parietal prior to OB-NC and OB-MS harvesting. The cells were cultured, and several parameters of osteoblast differentiation were evaluated. These cells, or PBS without cells (control), were locally injected into 5-mm rat calvarial defects (5 × 10 6 cells/defect) and after 4 weeks bone formation was evaluated by morphometric and histological analyses. Results The characterization of frontal and parietal bones assured the different embryonic origin of both cell populations, OB-NC and OB-MS. The OB-NC presented higher proliferation while the OB-MS presented higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, extracellular matrix mineralization and gene expression of runt-related transcription factor 2, Alp , bone sialoprotein and osteocalcin revealing their high osteogenic potential. µCT analysis indicated that there was higher amount of bone formation in defects injected with both OB-NC and OB-MS compared to the control. Moreover, the bone tissue formed by both cells displayed the same histological characteristics. Conclusions Despite the distinct in vitro osteogenic potential, OB-NC and OB-MS induced similar bone repair in a rat calvarial defect model. Thus, osteoblasts, irrespective of their in vitro osteogenic potential linked to embryonic origins, seem to be suitable for cell-based therapies aiming to repair bone defects.