Vascular Wall–Mesenchymal Stem Cells Differentiation on 3D Biodegradable Highly Porous CaSi-DCPD Doped Poly (α-hydroxy) Acids Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration

Abstract

Vascularization is a crucial factor when approaching any engineered tissue. Vascular wall-mesenchymal stem cells are an excellent in vitro model to study vascular remodeling due to their strong angiogenic attitude. This study aimed to demonstrate the angiogenic potential of experimental highly porous scaffolds based on polylactic acid (PLA) or poly-e-caprolactone (PCL) doped with calcium silicates (CaSi) and dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), namely PLA-10CaSi-10DCPD and PCL-10CaSi-10DCPD, designed for the regeneration of bone defects. Vascular wall-mesenchymal stem cells (VW-MSCs) derived from pig thoracic aorta were seeded on the scaffolds and the expression of angiogenic markers, i.e. CD90 (mesenchymal stem/stromal cell surface marker), pericyte genes α-SMA (alpha smooth muscle actin), PDGFR-β (platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β), and NG2 (neuron-glial antigen 2) was evaluated. Pure PLA and pure PCL scaffolds and cell culture plastic were used as controls (3D in vitro model vs. 2D in vitro model). The results clearly demonstrated that the vascular wall mesenchymal cells colonized the scaffolds and were metabolically active. Cells, grown in these 3D systems, showed the typical gene expression profile they have in control 2D culture, although with some main quantitative differences. DNA staining and immunofluorescence assay for alpha-tubulin confirmed a cellular presence on both scaffolds. However, VW-MSCs cultured on PLA-10CaSi-10DCPD showed an individual cells growth, whilst on PCL-10CaSi-10DCPD scaffolds VW-MSCs grew in spherical clusters. In conclusion, vascular wall mesenchymal stem cells demonstrated the ability to colonize PLA and PCL scaffolds doped with CaSi-DCPD for new vessels formation and a potential for tissue regeneration.

PDMS Nano-Modified Scaffolds for Improvement of Stem Cells Proliferation and Differentiation in Microfluidic Platform

“…Recently, nano-engineered materials have been widely applied in the areas of drug delivery, biosensing, stem cells, biomedical science, nanotoxicity evaluation, and tissue engineering [3,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. For instance, osteoblast and stem cells cultured on nano-scaffold have long slender morphology on adhesion to neighbor cells; however, the cells cultured in solid scaffold have flat and smooth morphology [17][18][19][20].…”

Carbon Nanotubes/Regenerated Silk Composite as a Three-Dimensional Printable Bio-Adhesive Ink with Self-Powering Properties

“…PHAs are biocompatible materials, which can be processed as a thermoplastic polymer sand and are frequently used in tissue engineering. 58 , 59 In addition, PHAs can be used as a green alternative to acrylic and epoxy resins as substrates for circuits for the development of environmentally friendly electronic devices. 60 We pave the utilization of RS composites on PHBV as a patch of different shapes to be applied on biological substrates with complex geometries.…”

Mineral-Doped Poly(L-lactide) Acid Scaffolds Enriched with Exosomes Improve Osteogenic Commitment of Human Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…Biomaterials able to release biologically active ions have been considered a promising strategy for bone regeneration [43][44][45][56][57][58][59][60]. It has been reported that chemical signals from biomaterials can promote the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells [47].…”

“…The release of biologically active ions and the formation of a calcium phosphate layer on the surface may affect the behavior and gene expression of hAD-MSCs and trigger their osteogenic commitment. Indeed, calcium and silicon ions released from CaSi demonstrated to stimulate mineralizing cells proliferation [43][44][45]47,[56][57][58][59][60] enhancing the expression of several genes, such as pro-osteogenic genes (as osteocalcin, bone sialoprotein and alkaline phosphatase) [42][43][44][45][77][78][79] and pro-angiogenic genes [60]. PLA-based CaSi-DCPD-doped scaffolds revealed the ability to support the growth of vascular wall mesenchymal stem cells, stimulating the gene expression of several pro-angiogenic markers, including platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β (PDGFR-β), alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), neuron-glial antigen 2 (NG2), and CD 90 [60].…”