Decellularized Periosteum of New Zealand Adult Rabbits as a Potential Biologic Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering: Histological and Immunohistochemical Study

Abstract

Most bone defects heal spontaneously under suitable physiological environmental conditions due to the regeneration ability of bone. However, large defects may not heal spontaneously, so bone grafting is used to bridge a bone defect. The periosteum is a specialized highly vascularized connective tissue that is formed of an external fibrous layer and an inner cambium layer including periosteum derived progenitor cells (PDPCs). PDPCs have osteochondrogenic potential both in vitro and in vivo and they are the main source for soft callus formation during fracture healing. Therefore, they are essential for the initiation of bone graft healing and remodeling. Decellularized tissues have been successfully used in a variety of tissue engineering medical applications to form acellular organ. The decellularization process removes cellular antigens that would induce immune rejection without damaging the ECM. The decellularized periosteum preserves biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, it can provide a naturally compatible scaffold for use in future bone tissue engineering. The current study was conducted to evaluate the possible production of a decellularized periosteum to be used as a biological scaffold for future bone tissue engineering. Furthermore, to assess the biocompatibility of