Engineering Multifunctional Hydrogel With Osteogenic Capacity for Critical-Size Segmental Bone Defect Repair

Shaowei Zheng; Haobo Zhong; Hao Cheng; Xu Li; Guowei Zeng; Tianyu Chen; Yucong Zou; Weile Liu; Chunhan Sun

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2022.899457

Engineering Multifunctional Hydrogel With Osteogenic Capacity for Critical-Size Segmental Bone Defect Repair

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 May 9:10:899457. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.899457. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shaowei Zheng^{1

2}, Haobo Zhong¹, Hao Cheng², Xu Li¹, Guowei Zeng³, Tianyu Chen⁴, Yucong Zou⁴, Weile Liu¹, Chunhan Sun¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic, Huizhou First Hospital, Guangdong Medical University, Huizhou, China.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Graduate School, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang, China.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Treating critical-size segmental bone defects is an arduous challenge in clinical work. Preparation of bone graft substitutes with notable osteoinductive properties is a feasible strategy for critical-size bone defects. Herein, a biocompatible hydrogel was designed by dynamic supramolecular assembly of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium tetraborate (Na₂B₄O₇), and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The characteristics of the supramolecular hydrogel were evaluated by rheological analysis, swelling ratio, degradation experiments, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In in vitro experiments, this TEOS-hydrogel had self-healing property, low swelling rate, degradability, good biocompatibility, and induced osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by upregulating the expression of Runx-2, Col-1, OCN, and osteopontin (OPN). In segmental bone defect rabbit models, the TEOS-containing hydrogel accelerated bone regeneration, thus restoring the continuity of bone and recanalization of the medullary cavity. The abovementioned results demonstrated that this TEOS-hydrogel has the potential to realize bone healing in critical-size segmental bone defects.

Keywords: BMSCs; bone regeneration; critical bone defect; hydrogel; osteogenic differentiation.