Silicate ions as soluble form of bioactive ceramics alleviate aortic aneurysm and dissection

A new method for treating chronic pancreatitis and preventing fibrosis using bioactive calcium silicate ion solution

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a multifactorial fibroinflammatory syndrome. At present, there is no effective way to treat it clinically. In this study, we proposed a new approach by application of a highly active calcium silicate ion solution derived from calcium silicate (CS) bioceramics, which effectively inhibited the development of CP. This bioceramic derived bioactive ionic solution mainly regulated pancreatic acinar cells (PACs), macrophages and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) by SiO32- ions to inhibit inflammation and fibrosis and promote acinar regeneration. The possible mechanism of the therapeutic effect of CS ion solution mainly includes the inhibition of PAC apoptosis by down-regulating the c-caspase3 signal pathway and promotion of the regeneration of PACs by up-regulating the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway. In addition, the CS ion solution also effectively down-regulated the NF-κB signaling pathway to reduce macrophage infiltration and PAC inflammatory factor secretion, thereby reducing PSC mediated pancreatic fibrosis. This bioceramics-based ion solution provides a new idea for disease treatment using biomaterials, which may have the potential for the development of new therapy for CP.

Zn2 SiO4 Bioceramic Attenuates Cardiac Remodeling after Myocardial Infarction

In the pursuit of therapeutic strategies for myocardial infarction (MI), a pivotal objective lies in the concurrent restoration of blood perfusion and reduction of cardiomyocyte apoptosis. However, achieving these dual goals simultaneously presents a considerable challenge. In this study, a Zn2 SiO4 bioceramic capable of concurrently sustaining the release of bioactive SiO3 2- and Zn2+ ions, which exhibit a synergistic impact on endothelial cell angiogenesis promotion, cardiomyocyte apoptosis inhibition, and myocardial mitochondrial protection against oxygen-free radical (reactive oxygen species) induced injury is developed. Furthermore, in vivo outcomes from a murine MI model demonstrate that either systemic administration via tail vein injection of Zn2 SiO4 extract or local application through intramyocardial injection of a Zn2 SiO4 composite hydrogel promotes cardiac function and reduces cardiac fibrosis, thus aiding myocardial repair. This research is the first to elucidate the advantageous effects of dual bioactive ions in myocardial protection and may offer a novel therapeutic avenue for ischemic heart disease based on meticulously engineered bioceramics.

Silicate Ions Derived from Calcium Silicate Extract Decelerate Ang II-Induced Cardiac Remodeling

BACKGROUND

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is one of the main activators of heart failure. Currently, no drug can completely reverse or inhibit the development of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. To this end, we proposed a silicate ion therapy based on extract derived from calcium silicate (CS) bioceramics for the treatment of angiotensin II (Ang II) induced cardiac hypertrophy.

METHODS

In this study, the Ang II induced cardiac hypertrophy mouse model was established, and the silicate ion extract was injected to mice intravenously. The cardiac function was evaluated by using a high-resolution Vevo 3100 small animal ultrasound imaging system. Wheat germ Agglutinin, Fluo4-AM staining and immunofluorescent staining was conducted to assess the cardiac hypertrophy, intracellular calcium and angiogenesis of heart tissue, respectively.

RESULTS

The in vitro results showed that silicate ions could inhibit the cell size of cardiomyocytes, reduce cardiac hypertrophic gene expression, including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC), decrease the content of intracellular calcium induced by Ang II. In vivo experiments in mice confirmed that intravenous injection of silicate ions could remarkably inhibit the cardiac hypertrophy and promote the formation of capillaries, further alleviating Ang II-induced cardiac function disorder.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that the released silicate ions from CS possessed potential value as a novel therapeutic strategy of pathological cardiac hypertrophy, which provided a new insight for clinical trials.

3D-printed GelMA/CaSiO3 composite hydrogel scaffold for vascularized adipose tissue restoration

The increased number of mastectomies, combined with rising patient expectations for cosmetic and psychosocial outcomes, has necessitated the use of adipose tissue restoration techniques. However, the therapeutic effect of current clinical strategies is not satisfying due to the high demand of personalized customization and the timely vascularization in the process of adipose regeneration. Here, a composite hydrogel scaffold was prepared by three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, applying gelatin methacrylate anhydride (GelMA) as printing ink and calcium silicate (CS) bioceramic as an active ingredient for breast adipose tissue regeneration. The in vitro experiments showed that the composite hydrogel scaffolds could not only be customized with controllable architectures, but also significantly stimulated both 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and human umbilical vein endothelial cells in multiple cell behaviors, including cell adhesion, proliferation, migration and differentiation. Moreover, the composite scaffold promoted vascularized adipose tissue restoration under the skin of nude mice in vivo. These findings suggest that 3D-printed GelMA/CS composite scaffolds might be a good candidate for adipose tissue engineering.

Extracellular vesicles engineering by silicates-activated endothelial progenitor cells for myocardial infarction treatment in male mice

Extracellular vesicles have shown good potential in disease treatments including ischemic injury such as myocardial infarction. However, the efficient production of highly active extracellular vesicles is one of the critical limitations for their clinical applications. Here, we demonstrate a biomaterial-based approach to prepare high amounts of extracellular vesicles with high bioactivity from endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) by stimulation with silicate ions derived from bioactive silicate ceramics. We further show that hydrogel microspheres containing engineered extracellular vesicles are highly effective in the treatment of myocardial infarction in male mice by significantly enhancing angiogenesis. This therapeutic effect is attributed to significantly enhanced revascularization by the high content of miR-126a-3p and angiogenic factors such as VEGF and SDF-1, CXCR4 and eNOS in engineered extracellular vesicles, which not only activate endothelial cells but also recruit EPCs from the circulatory system.

Calcium silicate/bortezomib combinatory therapy for multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy. Bortezomib (BOR), a first-generation proteasome inhibitor, is the basic agent for the treatment of MM and has greatly improved the survival of patients with MM. However, the side effects of BOR (e.g. peripheral neuropathy) occur frequently and almost all MM patients eventually develop resistance to BOR and go on to develop refractory relapsed multiple myeloma (RRMM). Therefore, it is of great significance to find a method to increase the sensitivity of MM to BOR to reduce toxicity and drug resistance. Herein, we found that calcium silicate (CS), a silicate bioceramic that releases Si ions (SIs), enhanced the BOR anti-myeloma effect in vitro in human myeloma cell lines (HMCLs), including BOR-resistant cell lines (U266/BOR). The enhanced anti-myeloma effect of these two agents was demonstrated in primary MM cells regardless of disease status and in MM xenograft mice. Mechanistically, SI enhanced G2/M cell cycle arrest and the inhibition of the NF-κB pathway induced by BOR. These results imply that the combination of SI and BOR (SI/BOR) is a promising way to overcome BOR resistance in MM and RRMM. The future use of nanotechnology to prepare CS nanomaterials as BOR carriers for the treatment of MM and RRMM is a very promising clinical application.

3D-printed Sr2ZnSi2O7 scaffold facilitates vascularized bone regeneration through macrophage immunomodulation

Biomaterial-based bone grafts are emerged as an effective strategy for the treatment of large bone defects, especially for the scaffolds with enhanced osteogenic and angiogenic bioactivities. However, most studies focused on the direct interactions between scaffolds and bone-related cells such as osteoblasts and endothelial cells, and ignored the effects of material-triggered immunomodulation and the subsequent immune-regulated bone regeneration process. In this study, we developed a silicate bioceramic (Sr₂ZnSi₂O₇, SZS) scaffold with well-defined pore structures using a three-dimensional (3D) printing technique. The prepared scaffolds were biodegradable, and the released bioactive ions were beneficial for immunomodulation, which stimulated macrophages to release more pro-healing cytokines and less pro-inflammatory cytokines. The obtained scaffold/macrophage conditioned medium further promoted the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of a murine preosteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1), as well as the angiogenic activity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Moreover, the in vivo experiments of critical-sized calvarial defects in rats revealed that the 3D printed SZS scaffolds could facilitate more vascularized bone regeneration than the 3D printed β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP, a typical clinically used bioceramic) scaffolds, suggesting that the 3D-printed SZS scaffolds hold the potential as implantable biomaterials with favorable osteoimmunomodulation for bone repair.