Clay microparticles for the enhancement of bone regeneration: in vitro studies

Abstract

Humans develop osteoporosis as they age, a disease characterized by the slow and consistent reduction in bone mass and the subsequent risk of fractures. Due to aging, the mesenchymal stem cells within the bone marrow niche, show a shift in differentiation from osteogenesis to adipogenesis. The challenge of osteoporosis treatment is being met with advances in nanotechnology and tissue engineering. In this study , we evaluated the potential of palygorskite clay mineral microparticles for the promotion of the osteogenic differentiation in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in vitro. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and Alizarin red staining showed that osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs is enhanced in the presence of palygorskite clay. Although, gene expression analysis did not reveal upregulation of several osteogenic markers in the presence of the clay microparticles, another interaction mechanism resulted in the enhanced osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The charged surfaces of the palygorskite clay particles interact with the stem cells using their high adhesion characteristics, leading to complete bridging, adherence, and enveloping of the stem cells’ cadherins and integrins with their environment. This restoration of the adhesion among the stem cells and their environment most probably promotes/restores the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. Therefore, palygorskite clay microparticles are a promising candidate for further in vivo studies on bone regeneration.

Fabrication and Properties of the Montmorillonite/Nanobioglass Hybrid Reinforcement from Agroindustrial Waste for Bone Regeneration

“…42 According to Figure 9b, during the biodegradation process, the MMT-NPs@MgNPs-BV exhibited a controlled weight loss of 84.04 ± 2.02% over 56 days due to the increased barrier properties of MMT-NPs such as regulatory effects masking the partially hydrophobic effect of MgNPs-BV and maintaining mechanical stability during the bone regeneration process. 43,44 It is noteworthy that Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ ions possibly released from the surface of MMT-NPs@MgNPs-BV can induce the generation of phosphate ions to silanol sites forming calcium phosphate minerals. 45 The concentrations of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and PO 4 3− ions released in the immersion solution were extracted and recorded at each moment shown in Figure 9c−e.…”