Li Shunyao, Xu Kai, Sheng Huaixuan, Li Huizhu, Zhang Xiao, Yu Chengxuan, Hu Haichen, Du Xiner, Li Yunxia, Dong Yu, Chen Jun, Feng Sijia
Department of Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China.
Sports Medicine Institute of Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China.
Regen Biomater. 2025 Apr 11;12:rbaf025. doi: 10.1093/rb/rbaf025. eCollection 2025.
Collagen-based biomaterials are gaining prominence in tissue engineering, attributed to their remarkable biocompatibility, inherent biodegradability, and unparalleled capacity to facilitate tissue repair and regeneration. However, the ability to dynamically visualize and quantitatively assess collagen degradation remains a critical challenge, hindering the development of optimized biomaterials for clinical applications. To address this, a novel approach was developed to monitor the injury microenvironment by conjugating second near-infrared quantum dots with solid collagen. This live imaging system offered high-resolution, real-time tracking of collagen degradation both and , enabling a deeper understanding of the degradation behavior under various conditions. This system was applied to mouse models with different cartilage defects, including critical-sized defect (CSD), minor defect (Minor) and sham surgery (Sham) groups for a 28-day monitoring. Among them, the CSD group exhibited the fastest and most stable collagen degradation, indicating that the degradation rate was closely linked to the severity of the injury. Transcriptomic analysis further identified key signaling pathways that might drive rapid collagen degradation by promoting collagenase activity and tissue remodeling in cartilage defect conditions. In summary, our study provided valuable insights into the mechanisms of collagen degradation under different injury conditions, contributing to innovative strategies for designing collagen-related biomaterials in the future.
基于胶原蛋白的生物材料在组织工程中日益突出，这归因于其卓越的生物相容性、固有的生物可降解性以及促进组织修复和再生的无与伦比的能力。然而，动态可视化和定量评估胶原蛋白降解的能力仍然是一项关键挑战，阻碍了用于临床应用的优化生物材料的开发。为了解决这个问题，开发了一种新方法，通过将第二近红外量子点与固体胶原蛋白结合来监测损伤微环境。这个活体成像系统提供了高分辨率、实时跟踪胶原蛋白在体内和体外的降解情况，从而能够更深入地了解不同条件下的降解行为。该系统应用于具有不同软骨缺损的小鼠模型，包括临界尺寸缺损（CSD）、小缺损（Minor）和假手术（Sham）组，进行为期28天的监测。其中，CSD组表现出最快且最稳定的胶原蛋白降解，表明降解速率与损伤的严重程度密切相关。转录组分析进一步确定了在软骨缺损情况下可能通过促进胶原酶活性和组织重塑来驱动快速胶原蛋白降解的关键信号通路。总之，我们的研究为不同损伤条件下胶原蛋白降解的机制提供了有价值的见解，有助于未来设计与胶原蛋白相关的生物材料的创新策略。
