In vivo evaluation of human fetal cells as allogenic cell source for tissue engineering

The aim of this study was to test the association of fetal bone cells with ceramic reinforced PLA scaffolds for tissue engineering. As animal models, the craniotomy and the femoral condyle approaches in rats were chosen to follow cortical and trabecular bone repair processes. Key findings were the observation of complete bone bridging 12 months after implantation in skulls of PLA porous structures seeded with human fetal bone cells, and a strong induction of trabecular bone ingrowth in femoral condyles 2 months after surgery. The osteogenic properties observed in xenogeneic implants might have been reduced due to adverse response of the hosts, as reported with MSCs from rats used in mice, although immunoprivilege of fetal and adult MSCs is described (4). Further studies must be undertaken to evaluate the respective actions of host and donor cells in the healing process observed. A preliminary study showed that human cells were still detectable in cranial implants 4 weeks after surgery. In conclusion, we demonstrate here, the high potential of human fetal bone cells associated with PLA/ceramic composite structures processed by supercritical gas foaming for their use in cortical and trabecular bone repair.