骨の機能的適応に関する仮説 : 成長因子の機械的負荷による輸送

抄録

A hypothetical mechanism of the adaptive remodeling of bones is proposed. In this hypothesis, the growth factors (GFs) are assumed to dominate the activities of tissues as follows : firstly, the osteoblasts activate the GFs accumulated within the bone matrix, then GFs in bone fluid are transported to bone surfaces according to the fluid flow induced by the mechanical loads to bones, and finally, GFs control the activities of bone surface cells which govern the apposition and the deposition of bone tissues. It is shown that many curious properties reported in adaptive bone remodeling can be exp1ained by the proposed hypothesis. Further more, a simple numerical model based on the hypothesis simulates two typical adaptation phenomena, that is, the adaptation to repetitive artificial moments and the correction of abnormal curving after malaligned fracture.