Osseointegration and foreign body reaction: Titanium implants activate the immune system and suppress bone resorption during the first 4 weeks after implantation.

The presence of a titanium implant during bone healing activates the immune system and displays type 2 inflammation, which is likely to guide the host-biomaterial relationship. At the same time, bone resorption is suppressed around titanium sites compared to sham sites after 4 weeks of implantation, suggesting a shift to a more pronounced bone forming environment. This suggests two important steps in osseointegration: identification of the titanium foreign body by the immune system and the development of a bone forming environment, that at tissue level translates into bone build-up on the titanium surface and can be perceived as an attempt to isolate the foreign body from the bone marrow space.