Abstract

Bone defects stand out as one of the greatest challenges of reconstructive surgery. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) allows for the printing of 3D scaffolds tailored to the morphology and size of bone damage in a patient-specific and high-precision manner. However, FDM still suffers from the lack of materials capable of efficiently supporting osteogenesis. In this study, we developed 3D-printed porous scaffolds composed of polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite (PLA/HA) composites with high ceramic contents (above 20%, w/w) by FDM. The mechanical properties of the PLA/HA scaffolds were compatible with those of trabecular bone. In vitro degradation tests revealed that HA can neutralize the acidification effect caused by PLA degradation, while simultaneously releasing calcium and phosphate ions. Importantly, 3D-printed PLA/HA did not induce the upregulation of activation markers nor the expression of inflammatory cytokines in dendritic cells thus exhibiting no immune-stimulatory properties in vitro. Evaluations using human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) showed that pure PLA scaffolds exerted an osteoconductive effect, whereas PLA/HA scaffolds efficiently induced osteogenic differentiation of MSC even in the absence of any classical osteogenic stimuli. Our findings indicate that 3D-printed PLA scaffolds loaded with high concentrations of HA are most suitable for future applications in bone tissue engineering.

Details

Title
PLA/Hydroxyapatite scaffolds exhibit in vitro immunological inertness and promote robust osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells without osteogenic stimuli
Author
Bernardo, Marcela P 1 ; da Silva Bruna C R 2 ; Hamouda, Ahmed E, I 3 ; de Toledo Marcelo A S 4 ; Schalla Carmen 3 ; Rütten Stephan 5 ; Goetzke Roman 6 ; Mattoso Luiz H C 2 ; Zenke, Martin 3 ; Sechi, Antonio 3 

 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, National Nanotechnology Laboratory for Agribusiness, Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, Brazil (GRID:grid.460200.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 0541 873X); RWTH Aachen University, Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 696X) 
 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, National Nanotechnology Laboratory for Agribusiness, Embrapa Instrumentation, São Carlos, Brazil (GRID:grid.460200.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 0541 873X) 
 RWTH Aachen University, Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 696X) 
 RWTH Aachen University, Department of Hematology, Oncology, Hemostaseology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 696X) 
 RWTH Aachen University, Electron Microscopy Facility, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 696X) 
 RWTH Aachen University, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Stem Cell Biology and Cellular Engineering, Aachen, Germany (GRID:grid.1957.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 696X) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2627878497
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.