Figure 9. Effect of demineralization on osteogenesis in medium density scaffolds.

Mesenchymal progenitors were cultured for 5 weeks in demineralized medium-density scaffolds. DNA quantification (a), cell viability and cell distribution (b) did not show differences between the native and demineralized groups. Gene expression followed the characteristic bone formation pattern (c). Immunohistochemistry demonstrated comparable accumulation of bone specific proteins (scale bar: 200 μm) (d, e). In contrast, mCT demonstrated markedly higher mineralized tissue formation in native compared to demineralized bone scaffolds of medium density (f). Data represent average ± SD, n=4.