Endowing improved osteogenic activities with collagen membrane by incorporating biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticles

Zheng Li; Yunyang Zhang; Qing Ye; Lei Wang; Hui Chen; Chenhui Xu; Peng Wang; Jianfei Sun

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1259904

Endowing improved osteogenic activities with collagen membrane by incorporating biocompatible iron oxide nanoparticles

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Oct 12:11:1259904. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1259904. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zheng Li^#¹, Yunyang Zhang^#², Qing Ye¹, Lei Wang¹, Hui Chen³, Chenhui Xu³, Peng Wang^{1

4}, Jianfei Sun¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
² Center of Modem Analysis, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
³ Zhongda Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Collagen-based scaffolds, renowned for their exceptional biocompatibility, have garnered attention as promising scaffolds for advancing bone tissue regeneration. Nevertheless, these scaffolds possess inherent limitations, such as notably compromised osteo-conductivity and osteo-inductivity. Methods: Our study focused on enhancing the mechanical properties and osteogenic bioactivities of bovine-derived collagen membranes (CMs) from the Achilles tendon by incorporating FDA-approved iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), termed as IONP-CM. Three types of IONP-CMs (IONP-CM-0.5, IONP-CM-1, and IONPCM-1.5) were constructed by altering the amounts of feeding IONPs. Results: Surface topography analysis demonstrated comparable characteristics between the IONP-CM and neat CM, with the former exhibiting augmented mechanical properties. In vitro evaluations revealed the remarkable biocompatibility of IONP-CMs toward mouse calvarial pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells, concurrently stimulating osteogenic differentiation. Mechanistic investigations unveiled that the osteogenic differentiation induced by IONP-CMs stemmed from the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, in vivo bone regeneration assessment was performed by implanting IONP-CMs into the radial defect in rabbits. Results derived from micro-computed tomography and histological analyses unequivocally substantiated the capacity of IONP-CMs to expedite bone repair processes. Discussion: IONP-CMs emerged as scaffolds boasting exceptional biocompatibility and enhanced osteogenic properties, positioning them as promising candidates for facilitating bone tissue regeneration.

Keywords: Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway; bone tissue regeneration; collagen membrane; iron oxide nanoparticles; osteogenic differentiation.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Project (2021YFA1201403) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32271413).