Assessing the potential use of chitosan scaffolds for the sustained localized delivery of vitamin D

Abstract

Vitamin D is a commonly used bone modulator in regenerative medicine. Several modalities have been explored for the delivery of vitamin D including nanoparticles and scaffold. The present study aimed to assess the potential use of a bio-degradable chitosan scaffold for the delivery of vitamin D. The objectives included fabrication of a bio-degradable chitosan scaffold, integration of vitamin D into the scaffold, characterization of the vitamin D integrated scaffold. Characterization was carried out using, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The structure of the scaffold was assessed by scanning electron microscopy. The scaffold was placed in phosphate buffer saline and the release duration of vitamin D was observed using UV spectrophotometry. Dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells were added to the scaffold to study the scaffold associated toxicity and the functionality of the scaffold released vitamin D. The vitamin D release period from the scaffold was estimated to be for 80 hrs. MTT assay of the stem cells was comparable to that of the control group (stem cells cultured in media) inferring that the scaffold is not toxic towards the stem cells. The positive alizarin red S staining, a higher expression of alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and RunX2 confirmed the functional capability (osteogenic differentiation of the stem cells) of the released vitamin D. Based on the data from the present study, it can be inferred that chitosan scaffold can be used for the sustained delivery of functional vitamin D for 3–5 days.

Vitamin D Enhanced the Osteogenic Differentiation of Cell Spheroids Composed of Bone Marrow Stem Cells

“…Vitamin D is a bone modulator widely used in regenerative medicine [1]. Vitamin D also regulates both innate and adaptive immunity, modulates inflammatory cytokine production and blocks antigen-presenting dendritic cell maturation [2].…”

Evaluating the Systemic Effect of Metformin on Gene Expression of Osteocalcin and Vitamin D Receptors at Bony Defect in Rabbits

“…A common bone modulator in regenerative medicine is vitamin D [33]. Vitamin D has been shown to improve osteogenesis in primary murine osteoblasts and MC3T3-E1 cell lines in a number of investigations [34].…”

Vitamin D3 Stimulates Proliferation Capacity, Expression of Pluripotency Markers, and Osteogenesis of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells, Partly through SIRT1 Signaling

“…A stimulatory effect of 1α,25(OH) 2 D3 on osteogenic differentiation of BM-MSCs grown in 3D spheroids has also been demonstrated, showing significantly stimulated ALP activity even at a low concentration (0.1 nM) of this metabolite [ 72 ]. In addition, several studies utilizing various biomaterial scaffolds or composites loaded with VD3 have demonstrated its osteoinductive effects on MSCs [ 6 , 20 , 73 ]. Specifically, it was found that VD3 in combination with nano-HAP loaded on polycaprolactone/gelatin scaffolds stimulated osteogenesis in adipose tissue MSCs, as evidenced by increased ALP activity and mineralization, as well as gene expression of osteogenic markers (e.g., COLL I, ALP, RUNX2, BGLAP) [ 6 ].…”

“…Similarly, VD3 loaded on cellulose-enriched HAP/silica scaffolds induced increased osteogenesis of an osteoblast-like cell line (MG63), as evidenced by elevated expression of the ALP, RUNX2, and OCN genes [ 21 ], while VD3/vitamin K2/Mg-loaded polymers’ composite nanofibers supported osteogenic differentiation of BM-MSCs, increasing the expression of RUNX2, BMP2, and osteopontin [ 20 ]. In addition, human dental pulp MSCs grown on chitosan scaffolds constructed to sustainably deliver VD3 over the course of 3–5 days showed higher expression of ALP, RUNX2, and OCN, even when cultured in standard growth medium [ 73 ]. Comparable to these findings, our results demonstrated stimulatory effects of both treatment and pretreatment with VD3 on BM-MSCs’ osteogenesis, as evidenced by enhanced ALP activity and mineralization, along with increased expression of osteogenesis-related genes (ALP, RUNX2, and OCN).…”