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Dynamic regulation of stem cell adhesion and differentiation on degradable piezoelectric poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers

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Abstract

Degradable piezoelectric materials possess significant potential for application in the realm of bone tissue regeneration. However, the correlation between cell regulation mechanisms and the dynamic variation caused by material degradation has not been explained, hindering the optimization of material design and its in vivo application. Herein, piezoelectric poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers with different molecular weights (MW) were fabricated, and the effects of their piezoelectric properties, structural morphology, and material products during degradation on the adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were investigated. Our results demonstrated that cell adhesion-mediated piezoelectric stimulation could significantly enhance cell spreading, cell orientation, and upregulate the expression of calmodulin, which further triggers downstream signaling cascade to regulate osteogenic differentiation markers of type I collagen and runt-related transcription factor 2. Additionally, during the degradation of the nanofibers, the piezoelectric properties of PLLA weakened, the fibrous structure gradually diminished, and pH levels in the vicinity decreased, which resulting in reduced osteogenic differentiation capability of MSCs. However, nanofibers with higher MW (280 kDa) have the ability to maintain the fibrous morphology and piezoelectricity for a longer time, which can regulate the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells for more than 4 weeks. These findings have provide a new insight to correlate cell behavior with MW and the biodegradability of piezopolymers, which revealed an active method for cell regulation through material optimization for bone tissue engineering in near future.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12002292), Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2022YFG0365), Chengdu Science and Technology Program (2022YF0501371SN), General project of The General Hospital of Western Theater Command (2021-XZYG-B07) and the Postgraduate Education and Teaching Reform Project of SWJTU (YJG52022Y019). We also thank the Analysis and Testing Center of Southwest Jiaotong University for the SEM tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Yimeng Zhang, Chenjun Huang, Yujie Dai, Shaomei Zhu & Xue Gou

  2. Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials, Ministry of Education and Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Yimeng Zhang & Yujie Dai

  3. Department of Orthopaedics, The General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, China

    Song Chen

  4. BGI Research, Shenzhen, 518083, China

    Ran Wang

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  1. Yimeng Zhang
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Contributions

Yimeng Zhang: Investigation, Visualization, Writing – original draft. Song Chen: Software, Validation. Chenjun Huang: Software, Formal analysis. Yujie Dai: Software, Writing. Shaomei Zhu: Software, Supervision. Ran Wang: Software, Writing. Xue Gou: Supervision, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.

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Correspondence to Xue Gou.

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Zhang, Y., Chen, S., Huang, C. et al. Dynamic regulation of stem cell adhesion and differentiation on degradable piezoelectric poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofibers. Biomed. Eng. Lett. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13534-024-00374-3

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