In orthopedic surgery, sterilization of bone used for reconstruction of osteoarticular defects caused by malignant tumors is carried out in different ways. At present, to devitalize tumor-bearing osteochondral segments, mainly extracorporal irradiation or autoclaving is used. Both methods have substantial disadvantages, e.g. loss of biomechanical and biological integrity of the bone. In particular integration at the autograft-host junction after reimplantation is often impaired due to alterations of the osteoinductivity following irradiation or autoclaving. As an alternative approach, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment of bone is a new technology, now being used in preclinical testing to inactivate tumor cells without alteration of biomechanical properties of bone, cartilage and tendons. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of HHP on fibronectin (FN), vitronectin (VN), and type I collagen (col. I) as major extracellular matrix proteins of bone tissue, accountable among others for the osteoinductive properties of bone.

Fibronectin, vitronectin and type I collagen were subjected to HHP (300 and 600 MPa) prior to the coating of cell culture plates with these pre-treated proteins. Following the biological properties were measured by means of cell proliferation, adherence, and spreading of the human osteosarcoma cell line (Saos-2) and primary human osteoblast-like cells.

Up to 600 MPa all tested matrix proteins did not show any changes, regarding the biological properties adherence, spreading and proliferation.

We anticipate that, in orthopedic surgery, HHP can serve as a novel, promising methodical approach, by damaging normal and tumor cells without alteration of osteoinductive properties, thus facilitating osteointegration of the devitalized bone segment in cancer patients after reimplantation.