A Bi‐Lineage Conducive Scaffold for Osteochondral Defect Regeneration |
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Authors: | Yan Wu Shouan Zhu Chengtie Wu Ping Lu Changchang Hu Si Xiong Jiang Chang Boon Chin Heng Yin Xiao Hong Wei Ouyang |
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Affiliation: | 1. Center for Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;2. State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China;3. Department of Biosystems Science & Engineering (D‐BSSE), Basel, Switzerland;4. Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
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Abstract: | Because cartilage and bone tissues have different lineage‐specific biological properties, it is challenging to fabricate a single type of scaffold that can biologically fulfill the requirements for regeneration of these two lineages simultaneously within osteochondral defects. To overcome this challenge, a lithium‐containing mesoporous bioglass (Li‐MBG) scaffold is developed. The efficacy and mechanism of Li‐MBG for regeneration of osteochondral defects are systematically investigated. Histological and micro‐CT results show that Li‐MBG scaffolds significantly enhance the regeneration of subchondral bone and hyaline cartilage‐like tissues as compared to pure MBG scaffolds, upon implantation in rabbit osteochondral defects for 8 and 16 weeks. Further investigation demonstrates that the released Li+ ions from the Li‐MBG scaffolds may play a key role in stimulating the regeneration of osteochondral defects. The corresponding mechanistic pathways involve Li+ ions enhancing the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) through activation of the Wnt signalling pathway, as well as Li+ ions protecting chondrocytes and cartilage tissues from the inflammatory osteoarthritis (OA) environment through activation of autophagy. These findings suggest that the incorporation of Li+ ions into bioactive MBG scaffolds is a viable strategy for fabricating bi‐lineage conducive scaffolds that enhance regeneration of osteochondral defects. |
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Keywords: | bi‐lineage scaffolds Li‐MBG osteochondral defect regeneration dual functions |
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