Effect of nano-structured bioceramic surface on osteogenic differentiation of adipose derived stem cells

Tissue engineering strategies to construct vascularized bone grafts potentially revolutionize the treatment of massive bone loss. The surface topography of the grafts plays critical roles on bone regeneration, while adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) are known for their capability to promote osteogenesis and angiogenesis when applied to bone defects. In the present study, the effects of hydroxyapatite (HAp) bioceramic scaffolds with nanosheet, nanorod, and micro-nano-hybrid (the hybrid of nanorod and microrod) surface topographies on attachment, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation, as well as the expression of angiogenic factors of rat ASCs were systematically investigated. The results showed that the HAp bioceramic scaffolds with the micro-/nano-topography surfaces significantly enhanced cell attachment and viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and mRNA expression levels of osteogenic markers and angiogenic factors of ASCs. More importantly, the biomimetic feature of the hierarchical micro-nano-hybrid surface topography showed the highest stimulatory effect. The activation in Akt signaling pathway was observed in ASCs cultured on HAp bioceramics with nanorod, and micro-nano-hybrid surface topographies. Moreover, these induction effects could be repressed by Akt signaling pathway inhibitor LY294002. Finally, the in vivo bone regeneration results of rat critical-sized calvarial defect models confirmed that the combination of the micro-nano-hybrid surface and ASCs could significantly enhance both osteogenesis and angiogenesis as compared with the control HAp bioceramic scaffold with traditional smooth surface. Our results suggest that HAp bioceramic scaffolds with micro-nano-hybrid surface can act as cell carrier for ASCs, and consequently combine with ASCs to construct vascularized tissue-engineered bone.