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Surface grafting of artificial joints with a biocompatible polymer for preventing periprosthetic osteolysis

Nature Materials volume 3, pages 829–836 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Periprosthetic osteolysis—bone loss in the vicinity of a prosthesis—is the most serious problem limiting the longevity of artificial joints. It is caused by bone-resorptive responses to wear particles originating from the articulating surface. This study investigated the effects of graft polymerization of our original biocompatible phospholipid polymer 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) onto the polyethylene surface. Mechanical studies using a hip-joint simulator revealed that the MPC grafting markedly decreased the friction and the amount of wear. Osteoclastic bone resorption induced by subperiosteal injection of particles onto mouse calvariae was abolished by the MPC grafting on particles. MPC-grafted particles were shown to be biologically inert by culture systems with respect to phagocytosis and resorptive cytokine secretion by macrophages, subsequent expression of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand in osteoblasts, and osteoclastogenesis from bone marrow cells. From the mechanical and biological advantages, we believe that our approach will make a major improvement in artificial joints by preventing periprosthetic osteolysis.

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Figure 1: Surface analyses of the MPC grafted PE.
Figure 2: The friction torque and the wear amount in the hip-joint simulator with three kinds of PE liners.
Figure 3: Optical findings of the surfaces of liners and corresponding femoral heads.
Figure 4: In vivo bone resorption in mouse calvariae.
Figure 5: Bone-resorptive responses in cultures exposed to PS particles with and without the MPC grafting (MPC-PS and PS, respectively).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Noboru Yamawaki, Takatoshi Miyashita, Hiroaki Takadama, Kaori Jono, Reiko Yamaguchi, and Mizue Ikeuchi for their excellent technical help. This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (#15390449), and Health and Welfare Research Grant for Comprehensive Research on Aging and Health from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sensory & Motor System Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Toru Moro, Yoshio Takatori, Ung-il Chung, Kozo Nakamura & Hiroshi Kawaguchi

  2. Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Kazuhiko Ishihara & Tomohiro Konno

  3. Materials Research and Development Laboratory, Japan Fine Ceramics Center, Atsuta, Nagoya, 456-8587, Japan

    Yorinobu Takigawa

  4. Japan Medical Materials Corporation, Yodogawa, Osaka, 532-0003, Japan

    Tomiharu Matsushita

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  1. Toru Moro
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Kawaguchi.

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Moro, T., Takatori, Y., Ishihara, K. et al. Surface grafting of artificial joints with a biocompatible polymer for preventing periprosthetic osteolysis. Nature Mater 3, 829–836 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1233

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