The crosstalk between macrophages and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in bone healing

Bone injury plagues millions of patients worldwide every year, and it demands a heavy portion of expense from the public medical insurance system. At present, orthopedists think that autologous bone transplantation is the gold standard for treating large-scale bone defects. However, this method has significant limitations, which means that parts of patients cannot obtain a satisfactory prognosis. Therefore, a basic study on new therapeutic methods is urgently needed. The in-depth research on crosstalk between macrophages (M phi s) and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) suggests that there is a close relationship between inflammation and regeneration. The in-depth understanding of the crosstalk between M phi s and BMSCs is helpful to amplify the efficacy of stem cell-based treatment for bone injury. Only in the suitable inflammatory microenvironment can the damaged tissues containing stem cells obtain satisfactory healing outcomes. The excessive tissue inflammation and lack of stem cells make the transplantation of biomaterials necessary. We can expect that the crosstalk between M phi s and BMSCs and biomaterials will become the mainstream to explore new methods for bone injury in the future. This review mainly summarizes the research on the crosstalk between M phi s and BMSCs and also briefly describes the effects of biomaterials and aging on cell transplantation therapy.

Automated summary

Bone injury is a global problem that affects millions of patients and puts a heavy burden on the public medical insurance system. Autologous bone transplantation is considered to be the gold standard for treating large-scale bone defects, but it has limitations. Therefore, there is an urgent need for basic research on new therapeutic methods. In-depth research on the crosstalk between macrophages and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells reveals a close relationship between inflammation and regeneration. The interaction between macrophages, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, and biomaterials is expected to be the mainstream for exploring new methods for bone injury in the future.