Researchers define cells used in bone repair

Research led by Johns Hopkins investigators has uncovered the roles of two types of cells found in the vessel walls of fat tissue and described how these cells may help speed bone repair. The study found that one of these perivascular stem cell types, pericytes, induces growth of new blood vessels, while another type, adventicytes, induces the formation of bone cells called osteoblasts. In laboratory tests, researchers found that the two types of cells did a better job promoting bone repair in mice with skull defects when they were used together than when either type was used alone. A description of the work was published online Jan. 7 in the journal NPJ Regenerative Medicine.
Bone defects from trauma, cancer or congenital reasons are common, but beyond a certain size, bone deficits cannot heal on their own, says senior study author Aaron James, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Cells taken from fat tissue have been tried in tissue engineering studies for bone repair, but some results have been disappointing, he says.