Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry, College of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Apr 11;23(8):4212. doi: 10.3390/ijms23084212.
Osteocytes function as the master orchestrator of bone remodeling activity in the telophase of osseointegration. However, most contemporary studies focus on the manipulation of osteoblast and/or osteoclast functionality via implant surface engineering, which neglects the pivotal role of osteocytes in de novo bone formation. It is confirmative that osteocyte processes extend directly to the implant surface, but whether the surface physicochemical properties can affect the functionality of osteocytes and determine the fate of the osseointegration in the final remodeling stage remains to be determined. Titania nanotube arrays (NTAs) with distinct diameters were fabricated to investigate the relationship between the nanoscale topography and the functionality of osteocytes. In vitro results pinpointed that NTA with a diameter of 15 nm (NTA-15) significantly promote osteogenesis of osteocytes via the enhancement of spreading, proliferation, and mineralization. The osteocyte transcriptome of each group further revealed that the TGF-β signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in osteocyte-mediated osteogenesis. The in vivo study definitely mirrored the aforementioned results, that NTA-15 significantly promotes bone formation around the implant. Consequently, nanoscaled topography-induced osteocyte functionality is important in late osseointegration. This suggests that surface designs targeting osteocytes may, therefore, be a potential approach to solving the aseptic loosening of the implant, and thus strengthen osseointegration.
成骨细胞在骨整合的末期作为骨重塑活动的主控器发挥作用。然而，大多数当代研究都集中在通过植入物表面工程来操纵成骨细胞和/或破骨细胞的功能，而忽略了成骨细胞在新骨形成中的关键作用。可以肯定的是，成骨细胞的突起直接延伸到植入物表面，但表面的物理化学性质是否会影响成骨细胞的功能，并决定骨整合在最终重塑阶段的命运，这仍有待确定。本研究制备了具有不同直径的二氧化钛纳米管阵列（NTAs），以研究纳米级形貌与成骨细胞功能之间的关系。体外结果表明，直径为 15nm 的 NTAs（NTA-15）通过增强细胞铺展、增殖和矿化作用，显著促进成骨细胞的成骨作用。每组成骨细胞的转录组研究进一步表明，TGF-β 信号通路在成骨细胞介导的成骨作用中发挥关键作用。体内研究确实反映了上述结果，即 NTA-15 显著促进了植入物周围的骨形成。因此，纳米级形貌诱导的成骨细胞功能在晚期骨整合中很重要。这表明，针对成骨细胞的表面设计可能是解决植入物无菌性松动的一种潜在方法，从而加强骨整合。
