In vitro comparison of equine cancellous bone graft donor sites and tibial periosteum as sources of viable osteoprogenitors.

This research compares various sites of the horse body as viable sources of osteoprogenitors, or bone cells involved in bone formation. The conventional site, tuber coxae was found to produce the most consistent yield of bone cells while non-conventional sites, tibial periosteum and fourth coccygeal vertebra, also showed good osteogenic potential.

Research Methodology

• The study centered around an in vitro cell culture system.
• Eight adult horses were involved in this experiment.
• Either cancellous bone or tibial periosteum was aseptically collected from the horses and cut into minute chips or periosteal strips.
• These tissues were cultured, and after two weeks osteogenic cells that sprouted from these cultures were recorded.
• The cells were further cultured in osteogenic media and after a week to ten days, these subcultures were stained with Von Kossa (VK), a method used to detect calcium and other mineral deposits which would showcase bone formation.

Results

• They found substantial variation in the yield of cells from different donor sites. Sternal and tibial bone provided osteogenic cells from only 25% and 50% of horses respectively.
• Meanwhile, considerably higher yields were gathered from tuber coxae, the coccygeal vertebra, and periosteum with rates of 75%, 100%, and 100%, respectively.
• In terms of osteoprogenitors, it was found that the tuber coxae and periosteum had significantly more than the fourth coccygeal vertebra.

Conclusions

• The study concluded that among conventional donor sites, the tuber coxae was most reliable in yielding viable osteogenic cells with an acceptable percentage of osteoprogenitors.
• It shed light on the fact that sternal and tibial sites were unreliable in providing osteogenic cells.
• It also introduced the fourth coccygeal vertebra and tibial periosteum as new and reliable donor sites with good osteogenic potential.
• Taking these findings into account, it was recommended that the tuber coxae be used as a conventional donor site if transplantable osteoprogenitor cells are required and the use of tibial periosteum or fourth coccygeal vertebra as alternate reliable sources should also be considered.