  Certain biomaterials are capable of inducing the secretion of Vascular
Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) from cells exposed to their biochemical
influence, which plays a vital role in stimulating angiogenesis. Looking for
this capacity, in this study three porous glasses were synthesized and
characterized. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration
of the glass particles that, being out of the cytotoxic range, could increase
VEGF secretion. The viability of cultivated bone marrow stromal cells (ST-2)
was assessed. The samples were examined with light microscopy (LM) after the
histochemical staining for haematoxylin and eosin (HE). The biological activity
of glasses was evaluated in terms of the influence of the Cu2+ and Sr2+ ions on
the cells. The dissolution products of CuSr-1 and CuSr-2.5 produced the highest
secretion of VEGF from ST-2 cells after 48 h of incubation. The combination of
Cu2+ and Sr2+ lays the foundation for engineering a bioactive glass than can
lead to vascularized, functional bone tissue when used in bone regeneration
applications.
