๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐ง๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ: ๐พ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ง๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ค๐ฉ๐จ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐
- kparmstrong1
- Jan 8
- 2 min read
A new study from the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute (Life Sciences, 2025) takes a closer look at ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ (๐๐๐ ๐) ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ harvested during pedicle screw prep.
While this is not a comparative trial, the findings raise several interesting possibilities for spine surgeons to consider.
๐ญ. ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ
The authors harvested marrow directly from the vertebral body and characterized it for growth factors and viable MSCs.
-High levels of ๐ฃ๐๐๐-๐๐ (>๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฝ๐ด/๐บ๐), ๐๐ ๐ฃ-๐ฎ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ were observed.
-MSCs expressed canonical markers (๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ, ๐๐๐ต๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฑ) and demonstrated trilineage differentiation.
๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ: vertebral marrow appears biologically active and easily accessible during standard fusion exposure โ but comparative studies vs iliac or long-bone sites are still needed.
๐ฎ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐
Rather than anticoagulating and spinning, the team allowed marrow to clot spontaneously, creating a 3-D scaffold containing platelets, cytokines, and viable MSCs.
The authors suggest this matrix may support sustained growth factor release โ though no control against BMAC or non-clotted marrow was included.
๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ: ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐
The most novel finding: vBMA clots reduced S. aureus and E. coli counts by >99% within 24 h, with increased expression of ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ (CXCL1, CXCL7, CXCL12).
This points to an ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ป๐ within marrow that might complement fusion biology โ but mechanistic and clinical validation remain to be done.
๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ:
The evidence supporting the idea of clotted bone marrow is mounting. Are we starting to see this trickle into clinical practice?
Do you think the immune cell population in marrow could play a role in infection control post-fusion?
Citation:
Salamanna F et al. Vertebral bone marrow clot breakthrough: a powerful osteogenic and antibacterial scaffold for spinal fusion surgery. Life Sci. 2025; 382: 124037. DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2025.124037
