Human bone marrow cells synthesize collagen, in diffusion chambers, implanted into the normal rat

Endosteal bone marrow cell populations were harvested, from freshly removed human femoral trabecular bone fragments, by enzymatic digestion. Diffusion chambers inoculated with fractions of this cell population were then implanted in the peritoneal cavities of three Albino Wistar rats for six weeks. The human cells were found both to survive within the chambers and to produce a collagen-containing extracellular matrix.