FIGURE 5.

The enhanced osteogenic effect of exosome/β-TCP scaffolds. Exosomes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells were loaded with β-TCP, and the osteogenesis effect in a rat model of critical-sized calvarial bone defects was evaluated at 8 weeks post-operation. (A) The different effects on repair of β-TCP alone or different concentrations of exosomes on three-dimensional reconstruction and sagittal images. (B,C) BV/TV and BMD differed between groups. (D) The formation and mineralization effect of new bone at 8 weeks post-operation was identified via fluorochrome-labeling histomorphometrical analysis. (E) Proportion of the fluorochrome area for all groups. The exosome/β-TCP system was shown to facilitate bone repair more remarkably than pure β-TCP scaffolds. Reproduced from Zhang et al. (2016). β-TCP, tricalcium phosphate; Exo, exosome; BV/TV, the ratio of bone volume to tissue volume; BMD, the bone mineral density.