ABSTRACT
Experiments on maxillofacial bone tissue engineering showed the promising result; however, its healing mechanisms and effectiveness had not been fully understood. The aim of this study is to compare the bone healing mechanism and osteogenic capacity between bovine bone mineral loaded with hAMSC and autogenous bone graft in the reconstruction of critical size mandibular bone defect. Critical size defects were made at the mandible of 45 New Zealand white rabbits reconstructed with BBM-hAMSC, BBM alone, and ABG, respectively. At the end of first, second, and twelfth weeks, five rabbits from each experimental week were sacrificed for histology and immunohistochemistry staining. Expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), bone mor-phogenic proteins-2 (BMP2), Runx2 and the amount of angiogenesis were analyzed in the first and second week groups, while expressions of Runx2, osteocalcin, collagen type-I fibres, trabecular area and bone incorporation were analyzed in the twelfth week groups. The result showed that expressions of VEGF, BMP2 and Runx2 as well as the amount of angiogenesis were higher in ABG compared with BBM-hAMSC group in the first and second weeks of healing. The result of twelfth week of healing showed that expressions of Runx2 and osteocalcin as well as the thickness of collagen type-I fibres were significantly higher in BBM-hAMSC compared to ABG group, while there was no statistically difference in trabecular area and bone incorporation between BBM-hAMSC and ABG group. This study concluded that early healing activities were higher in auto-genous bone graft than in BBM-hAMSC, while osteogenic activities in the late stage of healing were higher in BBM-hAMSC compared to autogenous bone graft. It was also concluded that the osteo-genic capacity of BBM-hAMSC was comparable to autogenous bone graft in the reconstruction of critical size defect in the mandible.