Bone Abstracts

Bone tissue engineering relies on the combination of scaffolds and cells aiming to heal bone defects. Among the many candidates for scaffolds, gelatin sponge (Gelfoam®) and fibrin glue (Tissucol®) are of interest due to the well-established biocompatibility and the ability to be loaded with cells. Here, we evaluated their potential to stimulate bone formation by microtomography analysis. For this, 5-mm unilateral calvarial defect was created in rats deeply anesthetized and filled with Gelfoam® (n=4) or Tissucol® (n=4). Untreated defects were used as control (n=7). At 4 and 8 weeks after surgery the animals were euthanized, the calvariae were harvested, fixed and analysed by microtomography for evaluation of bone volume and bone surface in the 5-mm defects. Data were compared by Kruskal–Wallis test (P<0.05). At 4 and 8 weeks bone volume in mm³ was 6.60±0.98 and 6.21±2.51 in Gelfoam® group, 6.53±3.52 and 9.30±6.62 in Tissucol® group, and 4.45±2.72 and 6.99±3.33 in control group, respectively. Bone surface in mm² was 0.33±0.05 and 0.27±0.08 in Gelfoam® group, 0.32±0.13 and 0.45±0.27 in Tissucol® group, and 0.24±0.01 and 0.28±0.11 in control group at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. There is no statistically significant difference in both bone volume and surface among the three groups. Furthermore, irrespective the treatment bone volume and surface were kept constant from 4 to 8 weeks. Despite the potential to act as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering procedures the present results show that neither Gelfoam® nor Tissucol® are capable of stimulating bone formation.

Financial support: FAPESP and CNPq.