Establishment of a new bone regeneration method that enables rapid recovery of bone mechanical function

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22060
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 26:Materials engineering and related fields
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Ishimoto Takuya 大阪大学, 工学研究科, 准教授 (50508835)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 中野 貴由 大阪大学, 工学研究科, 教授 (30243182)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 骨再生 / 骨材料 / 応力 / 細胞配列 / 骨力学機能

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In bone regeneration process, the restoration of bone mechanical function is governed not only by bone mineral density but also by the crystallographic orientation of the apatite crystals that is a main inorganic component of bone. In this study, we investigated a method to enhance apatite orientation even at an early stage by an artificial method without relying only on the self-repairing ability of the living body, and succeeded in it. In particular, it was clarified that the artificially induced stress on the regenerating part enhanced the apatite orientation in the regenerating bone in the direction of the principal stress through the function of osteocyte, which plays a role as a stress sensor in the bone. We obtained fruitful findings that can lead to the proposal of new bone reconstruction methods from the viewpoint of materials engineering.

Free Research Field

生体材料学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

骨の再生においては、骨密度のみならずアパタイトの配向性（向きと度合）を正常化することが不可欠である。それを達成する方法を、これまでに当研究グループで明らかにしてきたメカニズムに則って学術的な観点から確立した本研究の意義は大きい。骨密度を急速に上昇させることが可能な再生医療と合わせて、本研究で提案した手法を適用することで、骨折部のより早期の機能回復が期待され、患者のQOL向上に資する。ヒトで実施するための手法の検討が、今後の課題として挙げられる。