The use of poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone) as a scaffold for adipose stem cells in bone tissue engineering: application in a spinal fusion model

Since the early 1990s, tissue engineering has been heralded as a strategy that may solve problems associated with bone grafting procedures. The original concept of growing bone in the laboratory, however, has proven illusive due to biological, logistic, and regulatory problems. Fat-derived stem cells and synthetic polymers open new, more practicable routes for bone tissue engineering. In this paper, we highlight the potential of poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) to serve as a radiolucent scaffold in bone tissue engineering. It appears that PLCL quickly and preferentially binds adipose stem cells (ASCs), which proliferate rapidly and eventually differentiate into the osteogenic phenotype. An in vivo spinal fusion study in a goat model provides a preclinical proof-of-concept for a one-step surgical procedure with ASCs in bone tissue engineering.