ABSTRACT
The periosteum is a special connective tissue enveloping bone,which not only contains the mesenchymal cells required for bone repair,i.e.periosteum derived stem cells (PDSCs),but also provides the microenvironment required for PDSCs and the necessary biomechanical support.Periostea play a vital role in bone tissue repair.Clinical periosteal transplantation has been widely applied to restore bone defects,which is an important research field in regenerative medicine.In this paper,the structure characters of periosteal cells isolation and characterization of PDSCs were reviewed.The research progress of periosteum and PDSCs in bone defect restoration was reviewed.The related signal pathways involved in the restoration of PDSCs were discussed.Periostea and PDSCs are not only crucial for bone defect repair but also play important role in bone regeneration.The differences in proliferation and differentiation potential of PDSCs in human/mouse amputation,the amphibian epimorphic regeneration and the annual regeneration of deer antler were compared and analyzed.The results showed that the proliferative potential of PDSCs and abundant blood supply may be the key factors determining bone regeneration.