Secretory osteocalcin as a nondestructive osteogenic marker of tissue-engineered bone

All constructs except the hydroxyapatite/P-3 construct showed abundant bone formation by histology and both high secretory osteocalcin level in the medium and high osteocalcin content after implantation. Our study revealed that secretory osteocalcin level in vitro was related to osteocalcin content in vivo. The study clearly showed that measuring secretory osteocalcin is a nondestructive method of assessing the osteogenic potential of tissue-engineered bone. One can choose tissue-engineered bone with high osteogenic potential by integrating secretory osteocalcin measurement into the process of bone-tissue regeneration.