Synergistic effect of nanomaterials and BMP-2 signalling in inducing osteogenic differentiation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells

The lack of complete understanding in the signalling pathways that control the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells hinders their clinical application in the reconstruction of large bone defects and non-union bone fractures. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the interactions of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and bone biomimetic scaffolds in directing osteogenic differentiation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) and the underlying signalling pathways involved. We demonstrated that bioactive glass nanoparticles (nBG) incorporated polycaprolactone (PCL) coating on hydroxyapatite/beta-tricalcium phosphate (HA/ TCP) scaffold exerted a synergistic effect with 3 days of BMP-2 treatment in promoting osteogenic gene expression levels (Runx-2, collagen I, osteopontin and bone sialoprotein) and alkaline phosphatase activity in ASCs. Furthermore, we revealed that the synergistic effect was mediated through a mechanism of activating beta 1-integrin and induction of Wnt-3a autocrine signalling pathways by nBG incorporated scaffold. From the Clinical Editor: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the interactions of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and bone biomimetic scaffolds in directing osteogenic differentiation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells and the underlying signaling pathways involved. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.