The osteogenesis of bacterial cellulose scaffold loaded with bone morphogenetic protein-2

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a nanofibrous biological material with attractive physicochemical properties and biocompatibility. Its fiber is similar to the collagenous fiber of bone. To explore if BC could be utilized as a localized delivery system to increase the local concentration of cytokines for tissue engineering, we prepared the BC scaffold from Acetobacter xylinum X-2 (A. xylinum X-2) and investigated the osteogenic potential of the BC scaffold coated with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). The data showed that BC had a good biocompatibility and induced differentiation of mouse fibroblast-like C2C12 cells into osteoblasts in the presence of BMP-2 in vitro, as demonstrated by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assays. Within a certain range (0 similar to 3 mu g/scaffold), the osteogenic activity of induced osteoblasts was positively correlated to the concentrations of BMP-2. In in vivo subcutaneous implantation studies. BC scaffolds carrying BMP-2 showed more bone formation and higher calcium concentration than the BC scaffolds alone at 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. The ALP activity assay and the measurement of calcium concentration of BC scaffolds also showed that more new bone was developed in the BC scaffolds carrying BMP2 than in the BC scaffolds alone. Our studies suggest that BC is a good localized delivery system for BMPs and would be a potential candidate in bone tissue engineering. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.