Stimulation of Odontogenesis and Angiogenesis via Bioactive Nanocomposite Calcium Phosphate Cements Through Integrin and VEGF Signaling Pathways

J Biomed Nanotechnol. 2016 May;12(5):1048-62. doi: 10.1166/jbn.2016.2209.

Abstract

Formulating self-setting calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) with secondary phases particularly in the nanoscale order holds great promise to improve biological properties. Here, we focus on the effect that bioactive glass nanoparticles (BGN) incorporated in CPC compositions can have on the proliferation, odontogenic differentiation, and angiogenic stimulation of stem cells derived from human dental pulp (HDPSCs). These odontogenic and angiogenic events are of special importance in the dentin-pulp regeneration processes. In comparison to pure CPCs, nanocomposite cements exhibit a significantly improved proliferation of HDPSCs, and the improvement is more significant as the BGN content increases. The nanocomposite cements substantially enhance the adhesion of cells, and significantly up-regulate odontogenic differentiation, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the expressions of odontogenic genes (sialophosphoprotein, dentin matrix protein I, ALP, osteopontin and osteocalcin). Furthermore, the use of nanocomposite cements result in stimulation of angiogenic gene expression (VEGF, FGF-2, VEGFRs, PECAM-1, and VE-cadherin) and protein production (VEGF, VEGFR-1). The angiogenic stimulation by the HDPSCs significantly affects the endothelial cell behaviors, that is, the endothelial cell migration and the tubular network formation are substantially improved when treated with HDPSC-conditioned medium, particularly with the help of nanocomposite cements. The integrin and VEGF signaling pathways are reasoned for the stimulation of the odontogenesis and angiogenesis of cells, where the nanocomposite cements up-regulate the integrin subsets α1, α2, α3, and β1, and activate the integrin downstream signal pathways, such as p-FAK, p-Akt, p-paxillin, JNK, EK, and NF-κB, as well as other nuclear transcriptional factors, including CREB, STAT-3, and ELK-1. The current results indicate that the new formulation of the nanocomposite self-setting cements might provide some beneficial microenvironments for the regenerative processes of dentin-pulp complex tissues.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alkaline Phosphatase / metabolism
  • Biocompatible Materials / pharmacology*
  • Bone Cements / pharmacology
  • Calcium Phosphates / pharmacology*
  • Capillaries / cytology
  • Cell Adhesion / drug effects
  • Cell Differentiation / drug effects
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Dental Pulp / cytology
  • Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
  • Glass
  • Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / drug effects
  • Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Integrins / metabolism*
  • Models, Biological
  • NF-kappa B / metabolism
  • Nanocomposites / chemistry*
  • Neovascularization, Physiologic / drug effects*
  • Odontogenesis / drug effects*
  • Odontogenesis / genetics
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects*
  • Stem Cells / cytology
  • Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Bone Cements
  • Calcium Phosphates
  • Integrins
  • NF-kappa B
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
  • calcium phosphate
  • Alkaline Phosphatase