Nanophase hydroxyapatite and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) composites promote human mesenchymal stem cell adhesion and osteogenic differentiation in vitro

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) typically range in size from 10 to 50 μm and proteins that mediate hMSC adhesion and differentiation usually have a size of a few nanometers. Nanomaterials with a feature size smaller than 100 nm have demonstrated the unique capability of promoting osteoblast (bone forming cell) adhesion and long-term functions, leading to more effective bone tissue regeneration. For new bone deposition, MSCs have to be recruited to the injury or disease sites and then differentiate into osteoblasts. Therefore, designing novel nanomaterials that are capable of attracting MSCs and directing their differentiation is of great interest to many clinical applications. This in vitro study investigated the effects of nanophase hydroxyapatite (nano-HA), nano-HA/poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) composites and a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-7) derived short peptide on osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The short peptide was loaded by physical adsorption to nano-HA or by dispersion in nanocomposites and in PLGA to determine their effects on hMSC adhesion and differentiation. The results showed that the nano-HA/PLGA composites promoted hMSC adhesion as compared to the PLGA controls. Moreover, nano-HA/PLGA composites promoted osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs to a similar extent with or without the presence of osteogenic factors in the media. In the MSC growth media without the osteogenic factors, the nanocomposites supported greater calcium-containing bone mineral deposition by hMSC than the BMP-derived short peptide alone. The nanocomposites provided promising alternatives in controlling the adhesion and differentiation of hMSCs without osteogenic factors from the culture media, and, thus, should be further studied for clinical translation and the development of novel nanocomposite-guided stem cell therapies.