Bringing new life to damaged bone: The importance of angiogenesis in bone repair and regeneration

Abstract

Bone has the unique capacity to heal without the formation of a fibrous scar, likely because several of the cellular and molecular processes governing bone healing recapitulate the events during skeletal development. A critical component in bone healing is the timely appearance of blood vessels in the fracture callus. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, is stimulated after fracture by the local production of numerous angiogenic growth factors. The fracture vasculature not only supplies oxygen and nutrients, but also stem cells able to differentiate into osteoblasts and in a later phase also the ions necessary for mineralization. This review provides a concise report of the regulation of angiogenesis by bone cells, its importance during bone healing and its possible therapeutic applications in bone tissue engineering. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Stem Cells and Bone".

Tao-Hong-Si-Wu Decoction ameliorates steroid-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head by regulating the HIF-1α pathway and cell apoptosis

“…Although the mechanisms SANFH are unclear, the consensus view is that the final result of SANFH is an interruption of bone microcirculation (27), mainly through disruption of angiogenesis and limiting of the penetration of new vessels into necrotic bone (1). Regular angiogenesis is thus crucial to ameliorating SANFH, since angiogenesis is closely correlated with increased circulation of oxygen and nutrients in bone tissues (28). HIF-1α is a key regulatory factor that restores the intracellular oxygen concentration, and HIF-1α has been found to play a critical role in manipulating angiogenesis in stem cells (29).…”

Effects of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors on Bone Formation in Rat Calvaria

“…TGF-β stimulates osteogenic differentiation in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells 26,27) . VEGF is well known that promote angiogenesis in bone regeneration 28,29) . The fact that platelets secrete several growth factors and active metabolites means that their use may have a positive influence in clinical situations requiring rapid healing and tissue regeneration 30) .…”

Characterization and angiogenic potential of xenogeneic bone grafting materials: Role of periodontal ligament cells

“…Indeed, failure of rapid revascularization will impair the tissue regeneration process. Not only there will be a lack of oxygen and nutrients supply, but the circulation of cells required for bone tissue formation will be hampered as well [2][3][4] . To stimulate revascularization, researchers have explored the addition of exogenous angiogenic growth factors, like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), into the bone defect site 5,6) .…”