BMPª²induced cartilage regeneration in tracheal autograft with muscular wrapping

    LU Qiang, LI Xiaoª²Fei, CHENG Qingª²Shu, WANG Xiaoª²Ping, HAN Yong, WANG L¨¹, WANG Jian, YAN Xiaoª²Long

    Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi¬ðan 710038, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To study the regeneration of cartilage by rhBMPª²2 in tracheal autograft with muscular wrapping. METHODS: Fifteen mongrel dogs were randomly and equally divided into 3 autotransplanted groups: group wrapped with muscle (Group A), group wrapped with muscle and implanted with rhBMPª²2 (Group B) and group with no treatment (Group C). A fiveª²ring cervical tracheal segment was harvested as the autograft. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 weeks postoperative. The general conditions of animals, gross and histological character of the specimens and microvessel density were examined and modified Caª²Co method was used to detect alkaline phosphatase (ALP). RESULTS: Little regeneration of cartilage was found in Group C while obvious regeneration of cartilage was found in Group A and Group B. Significant difference was found in ALP within 8 weeks after operation between the three groups, with Group B the highest, followed by Group A and then Group C, while no significant difference was found in ALP 8 weeks after operation between the 3 groups. CONCLUSION: Local use of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) may upª²regulate ALP in tracheal cartilage and inhibit the absorption of tracheal cartilage. Muscle wrapping can increase the microvessel density and RhBMPª²2 helps to maintain tracheal¬ðs structure. ......