A New Way To Grow Bones

By Roland Piquepaille

As it is often the case, a recent discovery just came out from a simple idea. By studying diseases in which the human body generates too much bone, UCLA researchers have discovered a natural molecule that can be used to generate new bone growth in patients who lack it. This new molecule has aptly been named UCB, or University of California Bone. This new protein for growing bones is more precise and has less side effects than the ones currently used by orthopedic surgeons to aid in bone repair. But if you suffer from a bone deficit today, you'll have to wait almost ten years before an FDA approval and a commercial introduction of products based on this discovery. Read more...

Here is the beginning of this UCLA news release.

Bioengineering professor Ben Wu at UCLA's Department of Bioengineering, and Kang Ting, Thomas R. Bales Professor at UCLA's School of Dentistry, are developing a new molecule they've named UCB, or University of California Bone.

[Note: while I was doing my homework research for this entry, I discovered that Kang Ting was sometimes named Eric Ting. I wonder if he prefers to be called Kang or Eric.]

The core technology developed by Wu and Ting is potentially the most significant advancement in bone regeneration since the discovery of bone morphogenetic proteins by Dr. Marshall Urist at UCLA in the 1960s.

"For the average person, this new development potentially means faster, more reliable bone healing with fewer side effects at a lower cost," Ting said. "In more severe cases, such as in children born with congenital anomalies, the new protein may offer an advanced solution to repair cleft palates, which involves bone deficiencies, and also aid in repairing other bone defects such as fractures, spinal fusion and implant integration."

Before going further, here is an illustration showing the results of UCB.

On the right part of the image, you can see the bone defect, corrected by the UCB on the left side (Credit: UCLA School of Engineering).

Here is a link to a larger version (1,513 x 517 pixels, 123 KB).

As I mentioned above, UCB is more precise than the bone morphogenetic protein currently used.

With bone morphogenetic proteins, bone formation has been observed to occur at locations outside of the intended implant site, and tissue other than bone also has been reported. In contrast, UCB's main effects appear to be more specific towards bone formation process, giving surgeons increased control over where bone forms. According to Wu, UCB is more specific because it works downstream from the body's "master switch" for bone formation.

It's nice to discover a useful new protein, but how do you move it near the bones when it has to do its work?

The team at UCLA is developing a carrier that is engineered for UCB activities in the biological environment. "It's the right combination of carrier and protein that further increases the stability and activity of UCB," Ting said. "For certain clinical applications, we will need to develop injectable options that are minimally invasive. For other clinical applications, we will need moldable carriers that can hold the UCB in place better."

And when will this molecule be available to patients?

The team of UCLA researchers, under the business name Bone Biologics, already has begun forming partnerships that may assist in the development of appropriate carriers for UCB. Wu and Ting anticipate FDA approval and first sales of the product in the next seven to nine years.

For more information about Bone Biologics, you can read this article from the UCLA Daily Bruin.

Finally, Xinquan Jiang, a visiting scholar from Shanghai, China, and working in Ting's Lab, won the prestigious 2005 Hatton Award given by the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) for this new technology.

Sources: University of California at Los Angeles news release, April 21, 2005; and various websites

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