Culture-Expanded, Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Can Regenerate a Critical-Sized Segmental Bone Defect

Bone marrow has been shown to contain a population of rare cells capable of differentiating into the cells that form bone, cartilage, and other connective tissues. These cells, referred to as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), can be purified and culture-expanded from bone marrow, and are capable of forming bone when implanted ectopically in an appropriate carrier. To test the ability of MSCs to heal a critical-sized segmental defect, syngeneic...