2. Academic Validation
  3. Metal-organic framework materials promote neural differentiation of dental pulp stem cells in spinal cord injury

Metal-organic framework materials promote neural differentiation of dental pulp stem cells in spinal cord injury

  • J Nanobiotechnology. 2023 Sep 4;21(1):316. doi: 10.1186/s12951-023-02001-2.
Heng Zhou 1,  Shuili Jing 1,  Wei Xiong 1,  Yangzhi Zhu 2,  Xingxiang Duan 1,  Ruohan Li 1,  Youjian Peng 1,  Tushar Kumeria 3,  Yan He 4 5,  Qingsong Ye 6 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Center of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Stomatology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, China.
  • 2 Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
  • 3 School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
  • 4 Institute of Regenerative and Translational Medicine, Tianyou Hospital of Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430064, Hubei, China. [email protected].
  • 5 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. [email protected].
  • 6 Center of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Stomatology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, China. [email protected].
  • 7 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. [email protected].
PMID: 37667307 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-023-02001-2
Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is accompanied by loss of Zn2+, which is an important cause of glutamate excitotoxicity and death of local neurons as well as transplanted stem cells. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have the potential for neural differentiation and play an immunomodulatory role in the microenvironment, making them an ideal cell source for the repair of central nerve injury, including SCI. The zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8) is usually used as a drug and gene delivery carrier, which can release Zn2+ sustainedly in acidic environment. However, the roles of ZIF-8 on neural differentiation of DPSCs and the effect of combined treatment on SCI have not been explored. ZIF-8-introduced DPSCs were loaded into gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel and in situ injected into the injured site of SCI rats. Under the effect of ZIF-8, axon number and axon length of DPSCs-differentiated neuro-like cells were significantly increased. In addition, ZIF-8 protected transplanted DPSCs from Apoptosis in the damaged microenvironment. ZIF-8 promotes neural differentiation and angiogenesis of DPSCs by activating the Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, which is a promising transport nanomaterial for nerve repair.

Keywords

Dental pulp stem cells; MAPK; Neural differentiation; Spinal cord injury; ZIF-8.

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