Osteoconductivity of titanium implants coated with a new fusion protein containing four cell adhesion motifs

This study investigated the effects of a new recombinant protein(T-CAM) coating comprising four cell adhesion motifs for integrins(Arg-Gly-Asp and Pro-His-Ser-Arg-Asn motifs from fibronectin, and Glu-Pro-Asp-Ile- Met and Try-His motifs from βig-h3) on the osteoconductivity of titanium implant surfaces in vitro and in vivo. Osteoblast cell response including cell adhesion, proliferation, and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity to uncoated and T-CAM coated machined titanium surfaces were investigated using MG63 osteoblast-like cells. The osteoconductivity of T-CAM coated machined titanium implants was evaluated byremoval torque testing and histomorphometric analysis after 6 weeks of implantation in rabbit tibiae. T-CAM coated surfaces showed significantly increased osteoblastic cell adhesion, proliferation, ALP activity, removal torque forces, and bone-implant contact values compared with those of uncoated surfaces(P < 0.05). These results indicate that a simple coating of T-CAM, comprising four cell adhesion motifs, may enhance bone integration of titanium implants by promoting ostoblast cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation on their surfaces.