[Ectopic bone induction in vivo after transplantation of skeletal satellite cells from green fluorescence protein transgenic mouse transfected by adenoviral vectors encoding bone morphogenetic protein-2].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the ability of induced ectopic bone using skeletal muscles satellite cells (SMSCs) from newborn green fluorescence protein (GFP) transgenic mice mediated by Ad-BMP2.

METHODS: Transplantation of SMSCs transduced with Ad-BMP2 into back lamb muscles of subfascia in wildtype 129sv mice with a complex of collagen scaffords, then the tissue histologic examination, X ray plain film, fluorescence microscopy were used.

RESULTS: Transplantation of SMSCs transfected with Ad-BMP2 into back lamb muscles of subfascia generated ectopic bone formation involving GFP-positive osteoblasts and osteocytes 2 weeks and mature bone formation 4 weeks after transplantation. SMSCs non-transfected with Ad-BMP2 failed to induce ectopic bone formation.

CONCLUSION: SMSCs retain differentiation potentitality into osteoblasts in response to Ad-BMP2. They are useful tools for analyzing the process of osteoblast differentiation in vivo after transplantation.