Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Ultrastructural, Cytochemical, And Immunocytochemical Studies On Bone And Its Interfaces, M. D. Mckee, A. Nanci

Cells and Materials

Bone cells possess the ability to synthesize, secrete and direct the assembly and maintenance of extracellular matrix to form a functionally rigid and/or weight-bearing mineralized tissue complex, the skeleton. The skeleton not only supports and protects the organs and tissues of the body, but also acts as a mineral ion reservoir for maintaining systemic calcium balance (calcium homeostasis). The remarkable biological precision necessary for the formation, turnover and constant adaptation of bone to external mechanical forces is a dynamic process requiring a coordinated cellular effort relying on a variety of cell-cell and cell-matrix/mineral interactions. Indeed, cell-matrix interfaces found in a …

Immunohistochemical Investigation Of Tracks Left By The Migration Of Fibroblasts On Titanium Surfaces, Y. Abiko, D. M. Brunette

Cells and Materials

Fibronectin, a major attachment protein, has been thought to be involved in pathway guidance, a process in which cells migrate along specific pathways within a tissue during development. Fibroblasts exhibit the phenomenon of contact guidance, the tendency of cells to be guided in their direction of migration by the shape of the substratum. The purpose of our study was to test the hypothesis that fibronectin tracks are deposited by fibroblasts moving on smooth and grooved titanium surfaces.

The study was carried out on human gingival fibroblasts which were plated onto both smooth and grooved titanium substrata using medium containing either …

Immunocytochemical And Lectin-Gold Characterization Of The Interface Between Alveolar Bone And Implanted Hydroxyapatite In The Rat, H. Kawaguchi, M. D. Mckee, H. Okamoto, A. Nanci

Cells and Materials

The tissue response to implanted hydroxyapatite (HAP) in rat alveolar bone was investigated using morphological and cytochemical approaches. High-resolution immunogold labeling was used to examine the distribution of two non-collagenous bone proteins, osteopontin and osteocalcin, and two plasma proteins, a2HSglycoprotein (fetuin) and albumin. Glycoconjugates were characterized by lectin-gold cytochemistry using Ricinus communis I agglutinin and Wheat germ agglutinin. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of an electron-dense, lamina limitans-like layer at the HAP particle-bone interface and organic material within the micropores of the particles. Mineral was observed in relation to both these sites. The HAP particle-bone interface was strongly …