Poly(lactic acid) porous scaffold with calcium phosphate mineralized surface and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell growth and differentiation

This work aims to modify the surface of a poly(lactic acid) (PLA) porous scaffold with calcium phosphate (CaP) via a simple solution-based technique, and to evaluate the effects of this modification on the responses of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSCs). Under appropriate modification conditions involving stepwise-treatments in the Ca-and-P supersaturated solution under gentle agitation, a thin, poorly crystallized CaP layer was deposited. The BMMSCs derived from adult rats were shown to adhere quite well to the CaP-coated scaffold, and to proliferate actively with culturing time, although some down-regulation was noted with regard to the unmodified PLA scaffold. The osteogenic differentiation of rBMMSCs was significantly higher on the CaP-modified scaffold than on the unmodified scaffold, as confirmed by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Moreover, the expression of genes associated with bone, including collagen type I, osteopontin and bone sialoprotein, was stimulated better on the CaP-modified PLA scaffold. Based on these results, the currently used CaP-treatment was deemed effective in stimulating the osteogenic development of rBMMSCs on the PLA-based scaffold, and the CaP-treated PLA scaffold may be useful for future bone tissue engineering.