Carriers that concentrate native bone morphogenetic protein in vivo.

It is well known that the native bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) complex is much more active than each of its components: the concentration needed for extraskeletal bone induction is about a thousand times higher for a specific rhBMP than for the native BMP complex as a whole. Since the patient's own body is capable of producing the native BMP complex, the interesting question arises whether it is feasible to develop specific implants that concentrate native BMPs to levels that allow bone induction to take place. Such BMP-concentrating implants differ from carriers that are meant to passively store and deliver rhBMP. The fact that the native BMP complex is much more active than each of its constituent BMP molecules (the required concentration for the native complex is up to a thousand times lower) makes the question even more of interest. Based on the literature, the concept is developed in this article that selected implants, through mineralization in vivo, can concentrate the patient's own native BMP complex.