Improved Osteogenesis by Noggin siRNA Collagen-Bioactive Glass Composites

Abstract

Collagen-bioactive glass (COL–BG) composites have significant bone regeneration ability due to the considerable osteogenic performance and desirable biological properties of collagen. In the current research, the influence of COL–BG composite scaffolds loaded with noggin siRNA on osteogenesis in MC3T3 cells have been comprehensively studied. We prepared three types of COL–BG composites scaffolds, namely, unloaded, loaded with noggin siRNA, and loaded with negative control siRNA. The effect of the aqueous extracts achieved from these scaffolds on MC3T3 cell proliferation was monitored using a CCK8 test, whilst the effect on osteogenesis was assessed with ALP (alkaline phosphatase) activity assays, quantitative real-time PCR, and Alizarin Red staining (ARS). After cells were cultured for three and five days, proliferation in the presence of the extracts of composite scaffolds was remarkably greater than in the no-scaffold blank (P < 0.05). After 14 days of cultivation, MC3T3 cells exposed to COL–BG composites scaffold loaded with noggin siRNA exhibited greater ALP performance (P < 0.05) as well as higher mRNA expression (P < 0.01) of Runx2, BSP, and ALP genes in comparison with two other composite scaffolds, whereas ARS exhibited a larger number of mineralized nodules. Overall, these outcomes illustrate that COL–BG composite scaffold loaded with noggin siRNA is effective in enhancing osteogenesis. Thus, we suggest that this material has a promising potential for bone tissue engineering and is able to locally improve bone formation in bone defects.