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Bioactivating A Bone Substitute Accelerates Graft Incorporation In A Murine Model Of Vertical Ridge Augmentation, Jinlong Chen, Xue Yuan, Zhijun Li, Daniel J Bahat, Jill A Helms

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: Compared to autologous bone grafts, allogeneic bone grafts integrate slowly, which can adversely affect clinical outcomes. Here, our goal was to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying graft incorporation, and then test clinically feasible methods to accelerate this process.

METHODS: Wild-type and transgenic Wnt "reporter" mice were used in a vertical ridge augmentation procedure. The surgery consisted of tunneling procedure to elevate the maxillary edentulous ridge periosteum, followed by the insertion of bone graft. Micro-computed tomographic imaging, and molecular/cellular analyses were used to follow the bone graft over time. Sclerostin null mice, and mice carrying an activated form of β-catenin …