FEuropean Shapiro Cells and Materials Vol. 15 2008 (pages 53-76) DOI: 10.22203/eCM.v015a05 Bone development and ISSN fracture 1473-2262 repair BONE DEVELOPMENT AND ITS RELATION TO FRACTURE REPAIR. THE ROLE OF MESENCHYMAL OSTEOBLASTS AND SURFACE OSTEOBLASTS Frederic Shapiro* Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston MA, USA Abstract Introductory concepts and terms Bone development occurs by two mechanisms: Bone formation intramembranous bone formation and endochondral bone Bone formation is complex but the three-dimensional formation. Bone tissue forms by eventual differentiation positioning of cells and matrices is straightforward. As in of osteoprogenitor cells into either mesenchymal osteoblasts any discussion of bone formation it is important to keep (MOBL), which synthesize woven bone in random in mind the distinction between bone as a tissue (bone orientation, or surface osteoblasts (SOBL), which cells and the mineralized matrix) and bone as an organ synthesize bone on surfaces in a well oriented lamellar array. (including several tissues such as bone, cartilage, fibrous Bone repair uses the same formation patterns as bone tissue, marrow and blood vessels). Normal bone develops development but the specific mechanism of repair is using only 2 mechanisms: determined by the biomechanical environment provided. a) Intramembranous bone formation is mediated by Bone synthesis and maintenance are highly dependent on the inner periosteal osteogenic layer with bone synthesized the blood supply of bone and on cell-cell communication initially without the mediation of a cartilage phase. via the lacunar-canalicular system. Recent investigations b) Endochondral bone formation describes the highlight the molecular cascades leading to cell synthesis of bone on a mineralized cartilage scaffold after differentiation, the components of the structural proteins epiphyseal and physeal cartilage have shaped and such as the various collagens, and tissue vascularization. elongated the developing organ. These mechanisms are The patterning of bone matrix from an initial woven to an also used in fracture and osteotomy repair with the specific eventual lamellar orientation is essential for bone to develop mechanism dependent on the mechanical environment its maximum strength. This review demonstrates the provided during repair. With intramembranous bone repetitive nature of woven to lamellar bone formation as repair, mesenchymal cells differentiate along a pre- mediated by MOBLs and SOBLs in both normal vertebrate osteoblast to osteoblast line while endochondral bone bones and bone repair. Repair, using endochondral, primary, repair is characterized by the initial synthesis of cartilage direct and distraction osteogenesis mechanisms, is reviewed followed by the endochondral sequence of bone along with the associated molecular, vascular, and formation. The terms intramembranous and endochondral biophysical features. refer to the tissue being replaced, not to the eventual bone synthesized which is the same in both mechanisms. Key Words: bone development, fracture repair, osteotomy, intramembranous bone, endochondral bone, mesenchymal Matrix orientation osteoblasts, surface osteoblasts, distraction osteogenesis. In bone tissue formation osteoblasts synthesize and deposit type I collagen, the main protein constituent of bone matrix, in only 2 basic conformations, a) woven and b) lamellar. In woven bone the collagen fibrils are randomly oriented while in lamellar bone they are clustered in parallel arrays. The fibrils in lamellar bone are not parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis; rather they alternate in adjacent layers between longitudinal and transverse orientations is a so-called orthogonal pattern. These processes are repeated in normal bone development, in bone repair utilizing any of several mechanisms, and in several pathologic conditions. *Address for correspondence: Osteoblasts F. Shapiro We use a specific terminology for osteoblasts describing Department of Orthopaedic Surgery them as either a) mesenchymal osteoblasts (MOBL) or Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, b) surface osteoblasts (SOBL) since these 2 variants only Children’s Hospital Boston are seen to underlie essentially all bone tissue formation Boston, MA 02115, USA (Shapiro, 1988). Matrix conformation shift from woven Telephone Number: 1-617-355-6753 to lamellar is virtually always abrupt with infrequent FAX Number: 1-617-730-0236 tendency to shading of one pattern into the other via fibro- E-mail: [email protected] osseous or chondro-osseous accumulations. With the first 53 F Shapiro Bone development and fracture repair a b Figure 1. (a) Mesenchymal osteoblasts (MOBL) are illustrated. These cells are beginning to differentiate and are surrounded by a newly forming randomly oriented collagen matrix. The tissue illustrated is from the central part of a circular cortical femur defect in the rabbit at one week post-injury. (Toluidine blue stain, plastic embedded section). (b) Mesenchymal osteoblasts (MOBL) are now seen surrounded by a recognizable woven bone matrix from a site of distraction osteogenesis in a rabbit tibia. (Toluidine blue stain, plastic embedded section) stages of bone formation, in an environment where no pre- the embryonic stage and go through proportional changes existing bone matrix is present, undifferentiated in size until skeletal maturity (Figs. 5 and 6). The epiphyses mesenchymal cells differentiate to pre-osteoblasts and then are responsible for the transverse and spherical growth of to osteoblasts that secrete collagen fibrils in a 360 degree the ends of the bone, the shaping of the articular surfaces, direction in random pericellular array. We refer to these and the longitudinal growth of the metaphyses and the cells as mesenchymal osteoblasts and the bone matrix diaphysis. A small amount of longitudinal growth also synthesized as woven (Fig. 1). When a sufficient amount occurs with interstitial expansion of the epiphyseal of woven bone has been synthesized to serve as a structural cartilage, including the undersurface of the articular scaffold, osteoblasts which we refer to as surface cartilage. Each epiphysis, formed initially completely in osteoblasts,: i) array themselves in well-polarized fashion cartilage, subsequently differentiates into three only along the woven bone surface, ii) secrete collagen histologically distinct regions. These are: i) the cartilage fibrils only onto the bone surface (not circumferentially), at the outermost boundary of the epiphysis adjacent to the and iii) secrete fibrils in a parallel or lamellar orientation joint space that is the articular cartilage, ii) the cartilage (Figs. 2, 3, 4). An osteoblast completely surrounded by adjacent to the metaphysis that forms the physis (growth the mineralized collagen matrix is now an osteocyte, plate, epiphyseal growth plate), and iii) the cartilage although it can be in woven or lamellar bone. Both cell between the articular cartilage and the physeal cartilage types secrete collagen molecules, which subsequently referred to as the epiphyseal cartilage, which will form a aggregate into fibrils in the extracellular matrix. secondary ossification center after vascular and osteoprogenitor cell invasion (Forriol and Shapiro, 2005; Rivas and Shapiro, 2002). The cells and matrices of the Structural stages of bone formation. Overview of perichondrial ossification groove of Ranvier (the terminal normal bone development extension of the periosteum) surrounding the physis and part of the metaphysis and are an integral part of long- A developing long bone consists of the epiphyses and bone development (Shapiro et al., 1977). The groove is metaphyses at each end and the diaphysis (shaft) in first evident at stage 6 of development (Fig. 5) and in all between. These regions are established by the middle of subsequent stages until skeletal maturity (Figs. 5, 6). 54 F Shapiro Bone development and fracture repair Table 1. Histologic stages in long bone and epiphyseal development Stage* Histologic events Stage 1 Limb bud formation, uniform distribution of mesenchymal cells, and formation of apical ectodermal ridge Stage 2 Mesenchymal condensation Stage 3 Cartilage differentiation Stage 3a Interzone formation Stage 3b Chondrocyte hypertrophy in middle part of long bone cartilage mode Stage 4 Epiphyseal shaping Stage 4a Formation of intramembranous periosteal bone at mid-diaphysis (primary center of ossification) Stage 5 Resorption of joint interzone and formation of smooth articular cartilage surface Stage 5a Vascular invasion of hypertrophic chondrocyte area, endochondral bone formation (mid-diaphysis), and completion of formation of primary centre of ossification Stage 6 Formation of the physis and of peripheral perichondrial groove tissue Stage 6a Farthest relative extent of epiphyseal/physeal position Stage 7 Epiphyseal cartilage vascularization with formation of cartilage canals Stage 8 Central chondrocyte hypertrophy to form spherical mass, development of growth plate completely surrounding secondary ossification centre Stage 9 Vascular invasion of developing secondary ossification centre into hypertrophic chondrocytes adjacent to mineralized cartilage matrix Stage 10 Bone formation and marrow cavitation in secondary ossification centre, formation of hematopoietic marrow Stage 11 Increase in size of secondary ossification centre at relative expense of epiphyseal cartilage Stage 12 Central chondrocyte