Synthesis of aligned porous polyethylene glycol/silk fibroin/hydroxyapatite scaffolds for osteoinduction in bone tissue engineering

Yuchao Yang,Zhenyu Bi,Bing Sun,Dongming Rong,Yanting Feng,Ting Deng,Jingxing Dai,Qingtao Li,Tingyu Fan,Yiting Yang,Rongmei Qu,Asmat Ullah Khan,Jun Ouyang

doi:10.1186/s13287-020-02024-8

Abstract

BackgroundThe physical factors of the extracellular matrix have a profound influence on the differentiation behavior of mesenchymal stem cells. In this study, the effect of the biophysical microenvironment on rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) osteogenesis was studied both in vitro and in vivo.MethodsTo prepare cell culture scaffolds of varying stiffness, increasing amounts of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were mixed into a polyethylene glycol/silk fibroin (PEG/SF) solution. The amount of HAp ranged from 25 to 100 mg, which provided for different ratios between HAp and the PEG/SF composite. In vitro, the effect of stiffness on the osteogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs was studied. The outcome measures, which were verified in vivo, included the protein expression of runt-related transcription factor 2 and osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase activity, and the mRNA expression of osteogenesis-related markers.ResultsIncreasing amounts of HAp resulted in an increased elastic modulus of the cell culture scaffolds. The PEG/SF/HAp fabricated with HAp (50 mg) significantly increased cell adhesion and viability (p < 0.05) as well as the expression of all the osteogenesis-related markers (p < 0.05).ConclusionsWe developed a novel cell culture scaffold and demonstrated that substrate stiffness influenced the osteogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs.

Highlights

IntroductionOne important biophysical factor is the extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, which is defined as an ability of material to undergo non-permanent deformation
Morphology of the Polyethylene glycol (PEG)/Silk fibroin (SF)/HAp scaffolds A polyethylene glycol/silk fibroin (PEG/SF)/HAp scaffold was constructed from a Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) 700 aqueous solution (12% wt/vol) with isopropyl alcohol as the cooling agent
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated that there were no significant differences in the structure and morphology of the scaffolds consisting of different HAp concentrations

Summary

Introduction

One important biophysical factor is the extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, which is defined as an ability of material to undergo non-permanent deformation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have enormous potential for treating a wide range of diseases because of their capacity for multipotential differentiation. These cells have been shown to differentiate into bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, and a wide variety of other tissues. These findings have stimulated a great deal of interest in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering [10, 11]. The physical factors of the extracellular matrix have a profound influence on the differentiation behavior of mesenchymal stem cells. The effect of the biophysical microenvironment on rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) osteogenesis was studied both in vitro and in vivo

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