Controlled release of recombinant human cementum protein 1 from electrospun multiphasic scaffold for cementum regeneration

Abstract

Xiaofeng Chen,1,* Yu Liu,1,* Leiying Miao,1 Yangyang Wang,2 Shuangshuang Ren,1 Xuebin Yang,3 Yong Hu,4 Weibin Sun1 1Department of Periodontology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 3Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group, Leeds Dental Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; 4Institute of Materials Engineering, National Laboratory of Solid State Micro Structure, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Periodontitis is a major cause for tooth loss, which affects about 15% of the adult population. Cementum regeneration has been the crux of constructing the periodontal complex. Cementum protein 1 (CEMP1) is a cementum-specific protein that can induce cementogenic differentiation. In this study, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-stabilized amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) nanoparticles were prepared by wet-chemical method and then loaded with recombinant human CEMP1 (rhCEMP1) for controlled release. An electrospun multiphasic scaffold constituted of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), type I collagen (COL), and rhCEMP1/ACP was fabricated. The effects of rhCEMP1/ACP/PCL/COL scaffold on the attachment proliferation, osteogenic, and cementogenic differentiations of human periodontal ligament cells, (PDLCs) were systematically investigated. A critical size defect rat model was introduced to evaluate the effect of tissue regeneration of the scaffolds in vivo. The results showed that PEG-stabilized ACP nanoparticles formed a core-shell structure with sustained release of rhCEMP1 for up to 4 weeks. rhCEMP1/ACP/PCL/COL scaffold could suppress PDLCs proliferation behavior and upregulate the expression of cementoblastic markers including CEMP1 and cementum attachment protein while downregulating osteoblastic markers including osteocalcin and osteopontin when it was cocultured with PDLCs in vitro for 7 days. Histology analysis of cementum after being implanted with the scaffold in rats for 8 weeks showed that there was cementum-like tissue formation but little bone formation. These results indicated the potential of using electrospun multiphasic scaffolds for controlled release of rhCEMP1 for promoting cementum regeneration in reconstruction of the periodontal complex. Keywords: nanofiber scaffold, rhCEMP1, controlled release, cementum regeneration, in vivo

Keywords

• nanofiber-scaffold
• rhCEMP1
• controlled release
• cementum regeneration
• in vivo