Injectable composite hydrogel promotes osteogenesis and angiogenesis in spinal fusion by optimizing the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell microenvironment and exosomes secretion

With the development of tissue engineering, it is no longer a challenge to repair and reconstruct bone defects using bone substitutes. However, in spinal fusion surgery, high rates of fusion failure are difficult to avoid. In our study, we designed a new composite hydrogel and found that it has good osteogenesis and angiogenesis effects. We extracted exosomes produced by rBMSCs (rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells) cocultured with the hydrogel to investigate their effects on osteogenesis and angiogenesis. The results showed that the PG/TCP (PEGMC with 8-TCP) promoted rapid osteogenesis, facilitated spinal fusion at a high rate and quality and had an indirect effect on angiogenesis. We found that PG/TCP affected the rBMSC microenvironment, thus changing the function of exosomes; in a further study, we found that PG/TCPMSC-Exos played a significant role in osteogenesis, which was coupled to angiogenesis. Thus, PG/TCP showed excellent potential in bone regeneration, especially the PG/0.2TCP.

Automated summary

By designing a new composite hydrogel and studying the effects of exosomes produced by rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs) cocultured with the hydrogel, it was found that PG/TCP has significant potential in promoting osteogenesis and angiogenesis, especially in spinal fusion surgeries. The study also showed that PG/TCP influenced the rBMSC microenvironment and affected the function of exosomes, ultimately playing a crucial role in bone regeneration and coupled angiogenesis.