Nano porous polycarbonate membranes stimulating cell adhesion and promoting osteogenic differentiation and differential mRNA expression

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 638; pp. 147 - 154
• Main Authors: Zhang, Chenghao, Liu, Jialing, Yao, Yang, Yu, Eunice Chan Jie, Javier, Mary Li, Zhao, Zhihe, Liao, Wen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-01-2023
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Adhesion; Cell Differentiation; Cells, Cultured; Humans; Mice; Nano topography; Osteogenesis; Osteogenesis - genetics; Periodontal Ligament; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Polycarbonate membrane; RNA sequencing; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Tissue engineering; RNA sequencing; Tissue engineering; Nano topography; Osteogenesis; Polycarbonate membrane
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2022.11.022

Tissue engineering is thought to be the ideal therapy for bone defect reconstructive treatment. In this study, we present a method of utilizing micro/nano porous polycarbonate membranes (PCMs) as the extracellular matrix to cultivate the human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) and investigate the osteogenic differentiation of those cells. We also compared the osteogenic enhancing abilities of different pore size PCMs. The pore diameters of the candidate membranes are 200 nm, 800 nm, 1200 nm, and 10 μm respectively, and their physical properties are identified. After seeding and cultivating on the PCMs, hPDLCs can be stimulated to undergo osteogenic differentiation, in which the 200 nm PCM is proved to have the most optimal osteo-induction ability. The results of in vivo experiments provide strong evidence suggesting that the hPDLCs stimulated by 200 nm PCM greatly accelerates the healing of bone reconstruction in mice skull defects, as well as promote the process of ectopic osteogenesis. RNA-sequencing was conducted to determine the differential mRNA expression profile during the osteogenesis process of hPDLCs on PCMs. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were conducted to study the regulatory mechanisms, in which osteogenic marker expression such as Hippo, TGF-β, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways were significantly up-regulated. The up-regulation indicates the promising potential of nano porous PCMs for promoting osteogenesis for bone regeneration applications. Ultimately, signaling pathways that promote osteogenesis warrants further exploration.
•Nano porous polycarbonate membrane (PCM) was used to promote osteogenesis in vitro.•PCM with aperture size of 200 nm had optimal osteo-induction ability.•The osteogenesis stimulated by PCM was stable in vivo.•mRNA expression profiling provided support for the osteogenesis process on PCM