AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ijb.6181
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

Gradient hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with spatial distribution facilitate the healing of tendon-to-bone interface

Lei Wang1,2 Liguo Sun1,3 Zhennan Qiu4,5 Zhao Zhang1 Yubo Shi1,6 Jingyi Dang1 Weidong Tao1 Jiankang He4,5 Hongbin Fan1*
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1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, the Air Force Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
2 Department of Orthopaedic Trauma, Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
3 Department of Medical Management, Shaanxi Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Xi’an, China
4 State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
5 Rapid Manufacturing Research Center of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
6 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Xiangyang No.1 People’s Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Xiangyang, China
Submitted: 17 November 2024 | Accepted: 31 December 2024 | Published: 2 January 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Tendon-to-bone interface (TBI) injuries have become increasingly common due to the growing competition in sports. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) 3D printing is a promising strategy for controllably fabricating biomimetic micro/nanoscale architecture in musculoskeletal tissue engineering. The goal of this study is to fabricate a novel biomimetic EHD printed poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with gradient hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles utilizing modified dopamine self-polymerization reaction, and assess the biocompatibility and the efficacy of osteogenic differentiation and interface regeneration in vivo. The fabricated scaffold (PPH) have a diameter of approximately 190.35±41.96nm in areas with lower HA concentration and 446.54±125.42nm in areas with higher HA concentration, and was demonstrated to profoundly facilitate osteogenic differentiation of tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs), enhancing the expression of Runx2 and Alp. On day 14, the expression of osteogenic genes, including BMP-2 (~3.12-fold, p<0.001) and Runx2 (~3.24-fold, p<0.001), was significantly elevated compared to those of PCL groups. New fibrocartilage formation and TBI healing were observed in PPH group in vivo. Therefore, our work demonstrated a facile green synthesis avenue for the enhancement of TBI healing via TSPCs’ osteogenic differentiation, which supplied a novel way of augmenting the therapeutic effects of ligament graft in TBI reconstruction.

Keywords
Gradient
Hydroxyapatite
Tendon-to-bone interface
TSPCs
Funding
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31971272); International Science and Technology Cooperation Key Program project of Shaanxi Province (No.2023-GHZD-25); Rapid response project of Air Force Military Medical University (2023KXKT081).
Conflict of interest
Jiankang He serves as the Editorial Board Member of the journal, but did not in any way involve in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Other authors declare they have no competing interests.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing