INTRODUCTION

In this study, we utilized human endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (EnMSCs), along with a novel fibrous nanocomposite scaffold made of polyacrylonitrile/metal-organic-framework (PAN/MOF-Cu) for bone tissue engineering. Additionally, we investigated the impact of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as a stimulant for promoting osteogenic regeneration.

METHODS

To assess our approach's effectiveness, four groups of rats were evaluated for the extent of bone tissue regeneration in their calvarial defects, 10 weeks post-surgery. Histomorphometry studies used various tissue staining methods, such as H&E and Masson's trichrome. Additionally, protein structures were extracted from the Protein Databank (PDB) and subjected to Molecular Docking using Molegro software.

RESULTS

The findings revealed that the PAN/MOF-Cu scaffold possesses remarkable characteristics conducive to cell adhesion and growth. Furthermore, histomorphometry analysis confirmed the osteoconductive properties of PAN/MOF-Cu, suggesting its significant potential for application in critical-sized bone defects, particularly when combined with EnMSCs. Additionally, the implantation of scaffold/EnMSCs/GQDs demonstrated a greater enhancement in forming new bone relative to the other experimental groups. This suggests that the presence of GQDs significantly enhances the process of bone repair. Docking results further indicated that GQDs can potentially act as agonists to ER, FGFR3, TGF-βR, and frizzled-8 during osteogenesis.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide further confirmation that the nanocomposite/cells/GQDs combination serves as an excellent platform for bone tissue engineering.