A single-cell transcriptome of mesenchymal stromal cells to fabricate bioactive hydroxyapatite materials for bone regeneration

The osteogenic microenvironment of bone-repairing materials plays a key role in accelerating bone regeneration but remains incompletely defined,which significantly limits the application of such bioactive materials.Here,the transcriptional landscapes of different osteogenic microenvironments,including three-dimensional(3D)hydroxyapatite(HA)scaffolds and osteogenic medium(OM),for mesenchymal stromal cells(MSCs)in vitro were mapped at single-cell resolution.Our findings suggested that an osteogenic process reminiscent of endochondral ossification occurred in HA scaffolds through sequential activation of osteogenic-related signaling pathways,along with inflammation and angiogenesis,but inhibition of adipogenesis and fibrosis.Moreover,we revealed the mechanism during OM-mediated osteogenesis involves the ZBTB16 and WNT signaling pathways.Heterogeneity of MSCs was also demonstrated.In vitro ossification of LRRC75A+MSCs was shown to have better utilization of WNT-related ossification process,and PCDH10+MSCs with superiority in hydroxyapatite-related osteogenic process.These findings provided further understanding of the cellular activity modulated by OM conditions and HA scaffolds,providing new insights for the improvement of osteogenic biomaterials.This atlas provides a blueprint for research on MSC heterogeneity and the osteogenic microenvironment of HA scaffolds and a database reference for the application of bioactive materials for bone regeneration.

Effect of cyclic mechanical loading on immunoinflammatory microenvironment in biofabricating hydroxyapatite scaffold for bone regeneration

It has been proven that the mechanical microenvironment can impact the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs).However,the effect of mechanical stimuli in biofabricating hydroxyapatite scaffolds on the inflammatory response of MSCs remains unclear.This study aimed to investigate the effect of mechanical loading on the inflammatory response of MSCs seeded on scaffolds.Cyclic mechanical loading was applied to biofabricate the cell-scaffold composite for 15 min/day over 7,14,or 21 days.At the predetermined time points,culture supernatant was collected for inflammatory mediator detection,and gene expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR.The results showed that the expression of inflammatory mediators(IL1B and IL8)was downregulated(p<0.05)and the expression of ALP(p<0.01)and COL1A1(p<0.05)was upregulated under mechanical loading.The cell-scaffold composites biofabricated with or without mechanical loading were freeze-dried to prepare extracellular matrix-based scaffolds(ECM-based scaffolds).Murine macrophages were seeded on the ECM-based scaffolds to evaluate their polarization.The ECM-based scaffolds that were biofabricated with mechanical loading before freeze-drying enhanced the expression of M2 polarization-related biomarkers(Arginase 1 and Mrc1,p<0.05)of macrophages in vitro and increased bone volume/total volume ratio in vivo.Overall,these findings demonstrated that mechanical loading could dually modulate the inflammatory responses and osteogenic differentiation of MSCs.Besides,the ECM-based scaffolds that were biofabricated with mechanical loading before freeze-drying facilitated the M2 polarization of macrophages in vitro and bone regeneration in vivo.Mechanical loading may be a promising biofabrication strategy for bone biomaterials.