Fractured Relationships

Break a bone and a frenzy of activity ensues to repair it. Bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) and their precursors (osteoprogenitors) take charge. However, fractures don’t always heal well. Consequently, growth factors are sometimes given to promote healing, specifically BMP which promotes bone formation and PDGF-BB which maintains osteoprogenitor numbers. Researchers investigate how they work in a mouse bone fracture model. MicroCT of fractured bones (pictured) revealed that adding high dose BMP, low dose BMP or PDGF-BB (top, left to right) promoted bone regeneration compared with no treatment (bottom left) or combining different BMP doses with PDGF-BB (bottom middle and right). Analysing the cell types revealed that BMP2 alone increased osteoblast and osteoprogenitor numbers but failed to do so when combined with PDGF-BB. While separately BMP2 and PDGF-BB promote bone healing, together they have the opposite effect. Further unpicking their interactions may help advance bone healing treatments.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image adapted from work by Sanja Novak and colleagues
• Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, UConn Health, Farmington, CT, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in npj Regenerative Medicine, January 2023