Working backwards, researchers have found that using calcitonin receptor fragment peptides (CRFP) with living cells in 3D printed trabecular bone scaffolding could change the game in orthopedics.
3D Cultured Osteoblasts in a Peptide Soup Change Everything
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The study, “Biomechanical properties of 3D-printed bone scaffolds are improved by treatment with CRFP,” appears in the December 22, 2017 edition of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.
Srinivas Pentyala, Ph.D. is director of Translational Research at Stony Brook Medical Center in New York. He told OTW, “We used bioinformatics program to discover novel bioactive peptides that can be utilized as lead drug compounds to cure various diseases.”
“One of our virtual peptides, CRFP was found to be osteogenic as well as osteoinductive. As such, CRFP is being considered a lead drug anabolic compound for osteoporosis. As CRFP has also osteogenic properties, we are working on creating biomimetic and biocompatible bone implants where scaffolds made of inert material are seeded with stem cells and treated with CRFP to produce bine matrix, which are currently being tested for implantation.”
The authors wrote, “3D-printed scaffolds based on physiological trabecular bone patterning were printed. MC3T3 cells were cultured on these scaffolds in osteogenic media, with and without the addition of Calcitonin Receptor Fragment Peptide (CRFP) in order to assess bone formation on the surfaces of the scaffolds.”
Dr. Pentyala commented to OTW, “Our lab is the first one to report that osteoblasts can be cultured on 3D printing plastic scaffolds. Also, the scaffolds were designed based on reverse engineering, we procured CT scans of bone cross sections and converted them to STL files using CAD and print the implants. Also, the design of the experiment to seed stem cells and transform them into bone producing cells on artificial scaffolds is unique.”
“Our osteogenic peptide, CRFP is osteogenic as it has multiple properties in fracture healing, bone cell differentiation and bone matrix production. As such CRFP is being used not only as a lead drug compound for osteoporosis but also being tested in fracture healing and creating bone grafts.”
“Reverse engineering to produce biomimetic scaffolds is the key to creating grafts and implants that are biocompatible. Also, discovering lead drug candidates like CRFP will enhance the anabolic drug portfolio in treating osteoporosis.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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