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Treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head by hepatocyte growth factor-transgenic bone marrow stromal stem cells

Gene Therapy volume 15, pages 1523–1535 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The treatment of hormone-induced early-stage avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) with transplantation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-transgenic bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) was examined. A rabbit model of hormone-induced early ANFH was first established. BMSCs were transplanted by core decompression under the guidance of computed tomography (CT). A supportive fibrinogen drug delivery mixture (FG) was tested for mechanical enhancement of stem cell delivery. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT perfusion imaging, ink artery infusion angiography, hematoxylin-and-eosin staining and immunohistochemical staining for extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 of pathological sections. A regular arrangement of trabeculae and obvious bone regeneration were observed in the animals receiving transplanted transgenic BMSCs with FG. Newly generated capillaries were visible on the bone plates of the trabeculae, and the bone marrow was rich in hematopoietic tissue. These results demonstrate that the combination of core decompression and transplantation of HGF transgenic autologous BMSCs enhanced blood vessel regeneration and bone reconstruction in the ANFH model. This study provides experimental data that motivate possible clinical use of this therapeutic strategy.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by State 863 Projects (2007AA02Z458), Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (2005B34001004), Science and Technology Project of Guangzhou (2005Z3-E0151) and the Medical Science Research Fund of Guangdong Province (B2005083, B2007107).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Immunology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China

    Q Wen, L Ma & W Luo

  2. Department of Imageology, Nanfang Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China

    Y-P Chen & L Yang

  3. School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China

    X-N Wang

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  1. Q Wen
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Correspondence to L Ma or X-N Wang.

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Wen, Q., Ma, L., Chen, YP. et al. Treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head by hepatocyte growth factor-transgenic bone marrow stromal stem cells. Gene Ther 15, 1523–1535 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/gt.2008.110

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