Developing a biomaterial that can promote osteoblastic differentiation, thereby reducing the needs of exogenous osteogenic factors for large bone repair, has been a significant and long-term technical hurdle. In this study, we developed an innovative nanoclay (nanosilicate, NS)-functionalized 3D gelatin nanofibrous scaffold (GF/NS) through a thermally induced phase separation method together with the particle leaching technique (TIPS&P). In addition to the significantly higher mechanical strength, the composite scaffolds (GF/NS) demonstrated a significantly stronger ability to promote the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in vitro compared to the GF scaffold. Our data further revealed that this intriguing pro-osteoblastic functionality was largely because of the unique features of NS, particularly, the strong binding ability to pro-osteoblastic factors (e.g., BMP2) as well as the intrinsic osteoinductivity of its bioactive degradation products. Most importantly, our in vivo studies indicated that GF/NS scaffolds significantly improved low-dose BMP2-induced ectopic bone regeneration in mice.

中文翻译：

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纳米粘土功能化的3D纳米纤维支架可促进骨骼再生。

开发可促进成骨细胞分化从而减少外源性成骨因子进行大块骨修复的生物材料，已成为一项重要的长期技术障碍。在这项研究中，我们通过热诱导相分离方法与颗粒浸出技术（TIPS＆P）一起开发了创新的纳米粘土（纳米硅酸盐，NS）功能化的3D明胶纳米纤维支架（GF / NS）。除了显着更高的机械强度外，复合材料支架（GF / NS）与GF支架相比，在体外具有显着更强的促进人间充质干细胞（hMSCs）成骨分化的能力。我们的数据进一步表明，这种有趣的成骨细胞功能主要是由于NS的独特功能，特别是，对促成骨细胞因子（例如BMP2）的强大结合能力及其生物活性降解产物的固有骨诱导能力。最重要的是，我们的体内研究表明，GF / NS支架显着改善了低剂量BMP2诱导的小鼠异位骨再生。