No abstract

Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) and bioceramic are the widely used bioactive factors in treatment of bone defects, but these easily cause side effects because of uncontrollable local concentration. In this study, rhBMP-2 was grafted on the surface of mesoporous bioglass nanoparticles (MBGNs) with an amide bond and then photo-cross-linked together with methacrylate gelatin (GelMA); in this way, a GelMA/MBGNs-rhBMP-2 hydrogel membrane was fabricated to release rhBMP-2 in a controllable program during the early bone regeneration period and then release calcium and silicon ions to keep promoting osteogenesis instead of rhBMP-2 in a long term. In this way, rhBMP-2 can keep releasing for 4 weeks and then the ions keep releasing after 4 weeks; this process is matched to early and late osteogenesis procedures. In vitro study demonstrated that the early release of rhBMP-2 can effectively promote local cell osteogenic differentiation in a short period, and then, the inorganic ions can promote cell adhesion not only in the early stage but also keep promoting osteogenic differentiation for a long period. Finally, the GelMA/MBGNs-rhBMP-2 hydrogel shows a superior capacity in long-term osteogenesis and promoting bone tissue regeneration in rat calvarial critical size defect. This GelMA/MBGNs-rhBMP-2 hydrogel demonstrated a promising strategy for the controllable and safer use of bioactive factors such as rhBMP-2 in artificial periosteum to accelerate bone repairing.

Background: Esophageal cancer (EC) is a common worldwide disease with a higher mortality rate.Studies on EC patients with bone metastasis (BM) are rare. Our study focused on the clinicopathological features of EC patients with BM using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to further explore the risk factors and survival for BM.Methods: According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, EC patients with BM were extracted from the SEER database from 2010 to 2016. Univariable analysis and multivariable logistic regression were used to study the risk factors for BM. Univariable analysis and multivariable Cox regression were performed to reveal the survival and prognostic factors for BM. The competitive risk model was made to compare the association with BM among causes of death. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to reduce the bias.Results: A total of 5314 patients were included in this study. Patients with BM had a worse prognosis before and after PSM. Male, middle esophagus, with brain metastasis, without lung metastasis, without liver metastasis were major independent risk factors of BM. Poorly differentiated and undifferentiated, with liver metastasis, with lung metastasis and without chemotherapy were major independent prognostic factors of BM.Conclusions: Compared to patients with other metastatic sites such as liver, brain and lung, patients with BM had a worse prognosis. Our ndings provide recommendations about clinical guidelines including examination and treatment for EC patients with BM.

The regeneration of critical-size bone defects on long bones has remained a significant challenge because of the complex anatomical structure and vascular network. In such circumstances, current biomaterial forms with homogeneous structure and function can hardly satisfy the need for both osteogenesis and angiogenesis. In the current study, a heterogeneous biomimetic structured scaffold was constructed with the help of a 3D printed mold to simultaneously mimic the outer/inner periosteum and intermediate bone matrix of a natural long bone. Because of the reinforcement via modified mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs), enhanced structural stability and adequate osteogenic capacity could be achieved for the intermediate layer of this scaffold. Conversely, GelMA incorporated with VEGF-loaded liposome exhibiting controlled release of the angiogenic factor was applied to the inner and outer layers of the scaffold. The resulting heterogeneous structured scaffold was shown to successfully guide bone regeneration and restoration of the natural bone anatomic structure, rendering it a promising candidate for future orthopedic clinical studies.