Abstract
To investigate the efficiency of a fibrous collagen membrane(FCM) composed of bovine skin type I atelocollagen as a carrier for BMP, partially purified bovine BMP/FCM($0.3mg/10{\times}5{\times}1mm$) composites were implanted into the dorsal subcutaneous tissue of rats. FCM alone was also implanted as a control. The implants were harvested at 1, 2, 3, and 10 weeks after implantation, then prepared for routine light microscopic observation. The FCM alone did not induce osteogenesis and revealed no specific foreign body reaction nor was there any definite resorptive evidence for 10 weeks after implantation, while the BMP/FCM composites induced favorable bone formation in a process that resembled an endochondral and direct ossification mode. At 10 weeks, the well formed bone confined to embedded collagen fibers revealed hematopoietic marrow between bony trabeculae without evidence of resorptive or degenerative changes . These findings support the suggestion that BMP may induce undifferentiated mesenchymal cells into either chondroblasts or osteoblasts or both independantly according to the chemico- physical characteristics of the carrier, which develops the endochondral and/or direct bone formation process, and suggest that the FCM may be a favorable carrier for BMP.