Sucralfate and basic fibroblast growth factor promote endothelial cell proliferation around porous alloplastic implants in vitro

Enhanced ingrowth of fibrovascular tissue into alloplastic orbital implants is clinically desirable. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is an angiogenic factor that promotes proliferation of endothelial cells. Sucralfate is known to bind bFGF and render it stable by protecting it from degradation. To test the ability of bFGF to stimulate endothelial cell proliferation, porous orbital implants coated with a sustained-release and bioactively-stabilized preparation of the angiogenic peptide bFGF were studied. Hydroxyapatite (HA) and porous polyethylene (PP) implant discs (15 x 3 mm) were coated with sustained-release polymer polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (hydron), sucralfate (a bFGF stabilizer), hydron plus or hydron/sucralfate plus bFGF. Discs were placed in tissue culture wells plated with 50,000 endothelial cells/well. After 5 days, cells were trypsinized and counted electronically using a Coulter counter. Statistical analysis was performed using unpaired Student's t-test. Implant discs coated with hydron/sucralfate/bFGF had significantly increased endothelial cell proliferation compared to discs coated with hydron alone or hydron/sucralfate (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the degree of enhanced proliferation between the HA and PP implants treated with hydron/sucralfate/bFGF (p > 0.05). Minimal proliferation occurred around discs treated with hydron alone or hydron/sucralfate. Coating both HA and PP orbital implants with the sustained-release form of sucralfate/bFGF promoted endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. The enhanced proliferation with hydron/sucralfate/bFGF warrants further exploration in an in vivo model.