Vascularized bone transplantation enables reconstruction of large skeletal defects, but this process needs a long time. Since
short-term intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH) enhances rat fracture healing, we investigated the effects of 4-week intermittent
low-dose (10 μg/kg/day) or high-dose (100 μg/kg/day) PTH followed by 4-week vehicle, low-dose or high-dose intermittent PTH,
or zoledronic acid (ZOL, 2 μg/kg/week), a potent bisphosphonate, on large skeletal reconstruction by vascularized tibial grafting
in rats. Compared to 8-week vehicle, 8-week low-dose PTH did not significantly increase the serum osteocalcin level as well
as the urinary deoxypyridinoline level, while 4-week low-dose or high-dose PTH followed by 4-week ZOL decreased both of these
levels. Eight-week PTH increased the bone mass of the graft and strength of the reconstructed skeleton in a dose-dependent
manner; notably, the reconstructed skeleton showed an obviously higher response to PTH compared to the contralateral nonoperated
femur. In contrast, 4-week PTH followed by 4-week vehicle reduced these effects and caused local bone loss at the host-graft
junctions. Four-week PTH followed by 4-week ZOL did not induce such bone loss; however, 4-week high-dose PTH followed by 4-week
ZOL caused a large callus in the distal cortical junction. Four-week PTH followed by 4-week ZOL increased the bone mass and
strength similarly to 8-week PTH. These preliminary findings suggest, for the first time, that sequential treatment with short-term
intermittent low-dose PTH and bisphosphonate as well as long-term intermittent low-dose PTH treatment enhance large skeletal
reconstruction by vascularized bone transplantation, though early timing of sequential antiresorptive treatment could result
in delay of bone repair.
Keywords Skeletal reconstruction - Vascularized bone transplantation - Parathyroid hormone - Bisphosphonate - Sequential treatment