Osteogenesis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on nano-hydroxyapatite/bacterial cellulose coposite scaffolds in rats

The composite scaffolds are extensively employed to repair and reconstruct damaged bone tissue function. The present study was designed to explore the nano-hydroxyapatite/bacterial cellulose (nHA/BC) on the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The osteoblast induced BMSCs were cultured on nHA/BC scaffolds. The proliferation of BMSCs was determined by the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The osteogenic response of BMSCs to nHA/BC scaffolds was examined by alizarin red staining. The mice were divided into three groups: BMSCs + beta nHA/BC, osteoblastic BMSCs + nHA/BC and nHA/BC without cells. The scaffolds of nHA/BC exhibited a good compatibility to BMSCs, and significantly promoted the proliferation of BMSCs, and obviously improved calcium deposition. The osteoblastic BMSCs on nHA/BC scaffolds stimulated the phosphorylation of p38. In addition, the recombination of osteoblastic BMSCs with nHA/BC composite significantly boosted the bone formation in vivo. The scaffolds of nHA/BC may enhance the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of BMSCs via modulation of p38 signal transduction pathway. The recombination of nHA/BC scaffolds with BMSCs exerts good ability of ectopic osteoblast, and they may be served as a kind of bone substitute for bone regeneration.