Osteoclast formation from mouse bone marrow cells on micro/nano-scale patterned surfaces

Biomaterial Cues for Regulation of Osteoclast Differentiation and Function in Bone Regeneration

Tissue regeneration involves dynamic dialogue between and among different cells and their surrounding matrices. Bone regeneration is specifically governed by reciprocity between osteoblasts and osteoclasts within the bone microenvironment. Osteoclast-directed resorption and osteoblast-directed formation of bone are essential to bone remodeling, and the crosstalk between these cells is vital to curating a sequence of events that culminate in the creation of bone tissue. Among bone biomaterial strategies, many have investigated the use of different material cues to direct the development and activity of osteoblasts. However, less attention has been given to exploring features that similarly target osteoclast formation and activity, with even fewer strategies demonstrating or integrating biomaterial-directed modulation of osteoblast-osteoclast coupling. This review aims to describe various biomaterial cues demonstrated to influence osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast function, emphasizing those that enhance a material construct's ability to achieve bone healing and regeneration. Additionally discussed are approaches that influence the communication between osteoclasts and osteoblasts, particularly in a manner that takes advantage of their coupling. Deepening our understanding of how biomaterial cues may dictate osteoclast differentiation, function, and influence on the microenvironment may enable the realization of bone-replacement interventions with enhanced integrative and regenerative capacities.

Mechanical and morphological responses of osteoblast-like cells to two-photon polymerized microgrooved surfaces

Microgrooved surfaces are recognized as an important strategy of tissue engineering to promote the alignment of bone cells. In this work, we have investigated the mechanical and morphological aspects of osteoblasts cells after interaction with different micro-structured polymeric surfaces. Femtosecond laser writing technique was used for the construction of circular and parallel microgrooved patterns in biocompatible polymeric surfaces based on pentaerythritol triacrylate. Additionally, we have studied the influence of the biocompatible TiO₂ nanocrystals (NCs) related to the cell behavior, when incorporated to the photoresin. The atomic force microscopy technique was used to investigate the biomechanical reaction of the human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells for the different microgroove. It was demonstrated that osteoblasts grown on circular microgrooved surfaces exhibited significantly larger Young's modulus compared to cells sown on flat films. Furthermore, we could observe that TiO₂ NCs improved the circular microgrooves effects, resulting in more populated sites, 34% more elongated cells, and increasing the cell stiffness by almost 160%. These results can guide the design and construction of effective scaffold surfaces with circular microgrooves for tissue engineering and bone regeneration.