Large-sized cranial bone defect repair presents a great challenge in the clinic. The ideal cranioplasty materials to realize the functional and cosmetic recovery of the defect must have sufficient mechanical support, excellent biocompatibility, good osseointegration and biodegradability as well. In this study, a high-strength mineralized collagen (MC) bone scaffold was developed with biomimetic composition, microstructure and mechanical properties for the repair of sheep large-sized cranial bone defects in comparison with two traditional cranioplasty materials, polymethyl methacrylate and titanium mesh. The compact MC scaffold showed no distinct pore structure and therefore possessed good mechanical properties. The strength and elastic modulus of the scaffold were much higher than those of natural cancellous bone and slightly lower than those of natural compact bone. In vitro cytocompatibility evaluation revealed that the human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC) had good viability, attachment and proliferation on the compact MC scaffold indicating its excellent biocompatibility. An adult sheep cranial bone defect model was constructed to evaluate the performances of these cranioplasty materials in repairing the cranial bone defects. The results were investigated by gross observation, computed tomography scanning as well as histological assessments. The in vivo evaluations indicated that compact MC scaffold showed notable osteoconductivity and osseointegration with surrounding cranial bone tissues by promoting bone regeneration. Our results suggested that the compact MC scaffold has a promising potential for large-sized cranial bone defect repair.

中文翻译：

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一种用于修复绵羊大面积颅骨缺损的高强度矿化胶原骨支架。

大面积颅骨骨缺损的修复给临床带来了巨大的挑战。实现缺损功能和美观恢复的理想颅骨成形材料必须具有足够的机械支撑、良好的生物相容性、良好的骨整合性和生物可降解性。本研究开发了一种具有仿生成分、微观结构和力学性能的高强度矿化胶原（MC）骨支架，用于修复绵羊大尺寸颅骨缺损，并与两种传统颅骨成形材料聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯和钛网进行比较。致密的MC支架没有明显的孔结构，因此具有良好的机械性能。支架的强度和弹性模量远高于天然松质骨，略低于天然致密骨。体外细胞相容性评估表明，人骨髓间充质干细胞（hBMSC）在紧凑的MC支架上具有良好的活力、附着和增殖，表明其具有良好的生物相容性。构建成年羊颅骨缺损模型，评价颅骨修补材料修复颅骨缺损的性能。通过肉眼观察、计算机断层扫描以及组织学评估来研究结果。体内评估表明，紧凑的MC支架通过促进骨再生，表现出显着的骨传导性和与周围颅骨组织的骨整合。我们的研究结果表明，紧凑型 MC 支架在修复大面积颅骨缺损方面具有广阔的前景。