Advances in Magnesium Metal and Its Alloys for Promoting Angiogenesis.

Abstract

Magnesium-based materials show great promise for bone repair due to their biodegradability, bone-like mechanical properties, and dual pro-angiogenic/osteogenic activities. Pure magnesium implants enhance vascularization in bone defect models through Mg²⁺ release. Advanced alloys and surface coatings further improve degradation kinetics and angiogenic performance. Mg²⁺ promotes vascular remodeling via multiple mechanisms, including activation of the CGRP/VEGF pathway, stabilization of HIF-1α, and scavenging of reactive oxygen species. Current challenges remain: standard small-animal critical-size defect models and static in vitro conditions poorly mimic real physiological environments; mechanistic studies often focus on isolated pathways rather than integrated networks; and vascularization assessment lacks standardized methodology. Future efforts should prioritize developing large-animal models of complex pathological conditions, establishing dynamic ion release simulation systems, applying multi-omics technologies to decipher the Mg²⁺-mediated "vascular-immune-osseous" regulatory network, and establishing unified evaluation protocols to accelerate clinical translation.