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Review
. 2018:1109:21-32.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-02601-1_3.

Pericytes for Therapeutic Bone Repair

Carolyn A Meyers  1 , Joan Casamitjana  2 , Leslie Chang  1 , Lei Zhang  1 , Aaron W James  3   4 , Bruno Péault  5   6
Affiliations
Review

Pericytes for Therapeutic Bone Repair

Carolyn A Meyers et al. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018.

Abstract

Besides seminal functions in angiogenesis and blood pressure regulation, microvascular pericytes possess a latent tissue regenerative potential that can be revealed in culture following transition into mesenchymal stem cells. Endowed with robust osteogenic potential, pericytes and other related perivascular cells extracted from adipose tissue represent a potent and abundant cell source for refined bone tissue engineering and improved cell therapies of fractures and other bone defects. The use of diverse bone formation assays in vivo, which include mouse muscle pocket osteogenesis and calvaria replenishment, rat and dog spine fusion, and rat non-union fracture healing, has confirmed the superiority of purified perivascular cells for skeletal (re)generation. As a surprising observation though, despite strong endogenous bone-forming potential, perivascular cells drive bone regeneration essentially indirectly, via recruitment by secreted factors of local osteo-progenitors.

Keywords: Blood vessel; Bone; Mesenchymal stem cell; Non-union; Osteogenesis; Pericyte; Perivascular cell; Spinal fusion; Stem cell; Tunica adventitia.

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Figures

Fig. 3.1
Fig. 3.1
Differentiation of human perivascular stem cells in vitro and stimulation of an osteochondrogenic program in vivo. (a, b) PSCs are a multipotent progenitor cell type in vitro. (a) Human PSCs were cultured in the presence of osteogenic differentiation medium. Frank confluent mineralization was observed among PSC under inductive culture conditions (Alizarin red staining shown). (b) Conversely, intracellular lipid accumulation can be visualized within PSC under appropriate adipogenic conditions (Oil red O staining shown). (c, d) PSC implantation in a rat spinal fusion model induces a combination of intramembranous and endochondral bone formation. (c) Woven bone formation, and prominent bone lining osteoblasts in areas of intramembranous bone formation by PSC. (d) Chondrocyte hypertrophy and mineralization in areas of endochondral bone formation induced by PSC. Scale bar: 25 um
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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