The Effect of Stromal-Derived Factor 1α on Osteoinduction Properties of Porous β-Tricalcium Phosphate Bioceramics

beta-Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) is a type of bioceramic material which is commonly used for hard tissue repair and famous of its remarkable biocompatibility and osteoconductivity with similar composition to natural bone. However, TCP lacks osteoindcutive properties. Stromal-derived factor 1 alpha (SDF-1 alpha) can promote bone regeneration with excellent osteoinduction effect. In this study, SDF-1 alpha was loaded into TCP to investigate the in vitro effects of SDF-1 alpha on the osteoinductive properties of TCP. In vitro studies showed that SDF-1 alpha/TCP scaffold significantly stimulated the expression of osteopontin and osteocalcin. As to the in vivo studies, the rabbit bone defect model showed that SDF-1 alpha stimulated more new bone formation. In conclusion, SDF-1 alpha/TCP bioceramic scaffolds could further promote bone regeneration compared to pure TCP bioceramics.