Potential Therapeutic Use of Relaxin in Healing Cranial Bone Defects
Abstract
The overall objective is to provide proof-of-principle that recombinant human relaxin (rhRLX) administration will accelerate bone healing in a calvarial defect model in mice by promoting angiogenesis/vasculogenesis and osteogenesis, at least in part through incorporation of bone marrow-derived angio- and osteogenic progenitor cells into the lesion. Results from the second study conducted during this reporting period demonstrated: reproducible implementation of uniform cranial lesions of approximately 1.5 mm diameter and circulating concentrations of relaxin ranging from 0.35-3.41 ng/ml. However, after 10-12 days of healing, the lesion closure was comparable in the relaxin- and vehicle-treated mice (approximately 50 percent). Consistent with this finding is that there were also no significant differences in bone/tissue volume (percent) or bone and tissues mineralization densities (g/cm3). Therefore, in the next study we will: (1) reach a circulating concentration of relaxin administered systemically by s.c. osmotic pump between the first and second studies i.e., approximately 10-20 ng/ml in one group of mice; (2) in another group, we will apply relaxin locally as collagen scaffolding; (3) make a larger lesion of 3 rather than 1.5 mm diameter, in order to reduce the overall percent closure at 10-12 daysless closure may unmask differences between relaxin and vehicle treatments; and (4) utilize old mice of approximately12 months of age, which relatively impaired bone healing due to age may be amenable to improvement by relaxin.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1093141
Entities
People
- Kirk P Conrad
Organizations
- University of Florida