Rapid maxillary expansion in alveolar cleft repaired with a tissue-engineered bone in a canine model

Abstract This study aims to investigate the effects of orthodontic expansion on graft area of a tissue-engineered bone (TEB) BMSCs/β-TCP, and to find an alternative strategy for the therapy of alveolar cleft. A unilateral alveolar cleft canine model was established and then treated with BMSCs/β-TCP under rapid maxillary expansion (RME). Sequential fluorescent labeling, radiography and helical computed tomography were used to evaluate new bone formation and mineralization in the graft area. Hematoxylin–eosin staining and Van Gieson׳s picro fuchsin staining were performed for histological and histomorphometric observation. ALP activity, mineralization and the expression of osteogenic differentiation related genes of BMSCs that grew on the β-TCP scaffold were promoted by their cultivation in osteogenic medium. Based on fact, TEB was constructed. After 8 weeks of treatment with BMSCs/β-TCP followed by RME, new bone formation and mineralization of the dogs were markedly accelerated, and bone resorption was significantly reduced, compared with the untreated dogs, or those only treated with autogenous iliac bone. The treatment with both TEB and RME evidently made the bone trabecula more abundant and the area of bone formation larger. What is more, there were no significant differences between BMSCs/β-TCP group and the group treated with autogenous bone and RME. This study further revealed that TEB was not only a feasible clinical approach for patients with alveolar cleft, but also a potential substituent of autogenous bone, and its combination with RME might be an alternative strategy for the therapy of alveolar cleft.