In situ bone tissue engineering using gene delivery nanocomplexes

Acta Biomater. 2020 May:108:326-336. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.03.008. Epub 2020 Mar 8.

Authors

Atefeh Malek-Khatabi¹, Hamid Akbari Javar¹, Erfan Dashtimoghadam², Sahar Ansari³, Mohammad Mahdi Hasani-Sadrabadi⁴, Alireza Moshaverinia⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417614411, Iran.
² Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3220, United States.
³ Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology, Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
⁴ Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology, Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
⁵ Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology, Division of Advanced Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Electronic address: amoshaverinia@ucla.edu.

PMID: 32160962
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.03.008

Abstract

Gene delivery offers promising outcomes for functional recovery or regeneration of lost tissues at cellular and tissue levels. However, more efficient carriers are needed to safely and locally delivery of genetic materials. Herein, we demonstrate microfluidic-assisted synthesis of plasmid DNA (pDNA)-based nanocomplexe (NC) platforms for bone tissue regeneration. pDNA encoding human bone morphogenesis protein-2 (BMP-2) was used as a gene of interest. Formation and fine-tuning of nanocomplexes (NCs) between pDNA and chitosan (CS) as carriers were performed using a micromixer platform. Flow characteristics were adjusted to tune mixing time and consequently size, zeta potential, and compactness of assembled NCs. Subsequently, NCs were immobilized on a nanofibrous Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffold functionalized with metalloprotease-sensitive peptide (MMP-sensitive). This construct can provide an environmental-sensitive and localized gene delivery platform. Osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was studied using chemical and biological assays. The presented results converge to indicate a great potential of the developed methodology for in situ bone tissue engineering using immobilized microfluidic-synthesized gene delivery nanocomplexes, which is readily expandable in the field of regenerative nanomedicine. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In this study, we demonstrate microfluidic-assisted synthesis of plasmid DNA (pDNA)-based nanocomplexes (NCs) platforms for bone tissue regeneration. We used pDNA encoding human bone morphogenesis protein-2 (BMP-2) as the gene of interest. Using micromixer platform nanocomplexes (NCs) between pDNA and chitosan (CS) were fabricated and optimized. NCs were immobilized on a nanofibrous polycaprolactone scaffold functionalized with metalloprotease-sensitive peptide. In vitro and in vivo assays confirmed the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The obtained data indicated great potential of the developed methodology for in situ bone tissue engineering using immobilized microfluidic-synthesized gene delivery nanocomplexes, which is readily expandable in the field of regenerative nanomedicine.

Keywords: Bone tissue regeneration; Gene delivery; Microfluidics micromixing; Nanocomplexes; Nanofiber scaffolds; Plasmid DNA.

MeSH terms

Bone Regeneration
Bone and Bones
Humans
Osteogenesis*
Tissue Engineering*
Tissue Scaffolds