Tetrahedral DNA Nanostructure: A Potential Promoter for Cartilage Tissue Regeneration via Regulating Chondrocyte Phenotype and Proliferation

Abstract

Utilizing biomaterials to regulate the phenotype and proliferation of chondrocytes is a promising approach for effective cartilage tissue regeneration. Recently, a significant amount of effort has been invested into directing chondrocytes toward a desired location and function by utilizing biomaterials to control the dedifferentiation and phenotypic loss of chondrocytes during in vitro monolayer culture. Here, the transmission signals resulting from tetrahedral DNA nanostructures (TDNs) in the regulation of chondrocyte phenotype and proliferation are exploited. TDNs, new DNA nanomaterials, have been considered as promising materials in biomedical fields. Upon exposure to TDNs, chondrocyte phenotype is significantly enhanced, accompanied by lower gene expression related to Notch signaling pathway and higher expression of type II collagen. In addition, the cell proliferation and morphology of chondrocytes are changed after exposure to TDNs. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that TDNs are potentially useful mechanism in cartilage tissue regeneration from chondrocytes, whereby chondrocyte phenotype and proliferation can be retained.

Effects of tetrahedral framework nucleic acid/wogonin complexes on osteoarthritis

“…liferation and promoting the migration of chondrocytes, TFNA, as a novel DNA material, can exhibit anti-inflammation and antioxidation activity in macrophages by suppressing the phosphorylation of members of the MAPK subfamilies. 21,22,41 Therefore, in this study, we aimed to explore how the combination of TFNA with wogonin affected inflammatory chondrocytes induced by IL-1β and inflamed knee joints in rats.…”

“…[17][18][19][20] In terms of chondroprotective effect, we found that tetrahedral framework nucleic acid (TFNA), a specific, novel, and very promising DNA nanomaterial, can maintain the morphology of chondrocytes and enhance chondrocyte proliferation by activating the Notch signaling pathway and promote the migration of chondrocytes by activating the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway at an optimum concentration of 250 nmol·L −1 . [21][22][23] TFNA can also be easily synthesized using several unique methods and specifically designed single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) by utilizing unique and sophisticated Watson-Crick base pairing. 24 Accumulating evidence has shown that TFNA but not ssDNA or other DNAs can permeate cells and enter mammalian cells via caveolin-mediated endocytosis, in which it remains intact for up to 48 h. Meanwhile, TFNA can escape from lysosomes via nuclear localization signals, which play a considerable and vital role in gene delivery.…”

Substrate stiffness regulated migration and angiogenesis potential of A549 cells and HUVECs

“…Therefore, it was possible to ignore in this study, the surface morphology factor of the PDMS substrates of varying stiffness. Our group has tested the stiffness of PDMS substrates formulated with different ratios of base and curing agent (Zhang et al, , 2017. The stiffness of the PDMS substrates formulated with base to curing agent ratios of 10:1, 20:1, 30:1, and 40:1 was approximately 135kpa, 54kpa, 16kpa, and 6kpa, respectively.…”

Stiffness regulates the proliferation and osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells via the WNT signalling pathway

“…In recent years, tissue engineering has been widely focused and considered an important approach to restore damaged tissues and organs. [1][2][3][4] The emergence of tissue engineering technology enables the successful isolation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and the use of DPSCs for repair of bone tissues or dentin-pulp tissue and even for the construction of natural teeth. [5][6][7][8] DPSCs are tissuespecific stem cells with a high proliferation rate, self-renewal capability and high accessibility.…”