Abstract
Abstract
In vivo, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP-2) with deactivated bone matrix as a carrier, implanted in muscle in adult rats, induced development of heterotopic bone, including bone marrow. The volume of bone was proportional to the dose of rhBMP-2 in a range of 0.2-150 μg. In vitro, in response to 50-μg dose range, subcutis- and brain-derived outgrowths differentiated into loosely woven connective tissues composed of spindle-shaped fibroblasts, adipocytes, and cartilage. Muscle-derived connective tissues cultivated first in culture media supplemented with 50 μg of rhBMP-2 for 72 hr, then enclosed in a diffusion chamber, and immediately transplanted into a rectus abdominous muscle pouch in an autogenic rat for 28 days, induced cartilage development on the inside and transmembrane hetertoptic bone development including bone marrow on the outside. These experiments are interpreted to show that muscle derived connective tissue cells have the competence of embryonic cells to develop de novo in response to BMP in postfetal life.
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