Fortified trabeculae-like biomimetic bone-filling material organoids for repair of weight-bearing bone defects

Abstract

Repairing critical-sized bone defects remains challenging, and many synthetic fillers trade mechanical stability against bioactivity. In this study, a novel bone tissue-filling material was designed and synthesized. Based on a previously described trabeculae-like biomimetic bone-filling material (TBM), mammoth tusk dentin was incorporated into this material, which endowed it with enhanced mechanical properties. We designated this material as fortified TBM (FTBM). FTBM demonstrated favorable mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and sustained drug-release capacity, thereby improving osteogenesis. In addition, human mesenchymal stem cells were encapsulated within the scaffold, resulting in a cell-laden biomaterial. Its efficacy in repairing bone defects was superior to the original TBM. This high-hardness bone-filling material offers a strategy to enhance the mechanical stability of trabeculae-like fillers, warranting evaluation in load-bearing models.

Keywords

Bone-filling material / Mammoth tusk dentin / Osteogenesis / Bone defect

Acknowledgments

None.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82272436, 32371371), the Science and Technology Innovation Talent Program of Xinjiang Tianshan Talented Youth Top Talent Project, the Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2022D01F49), the Clinical Research Program of Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College (2021LC008), the North Sichuan Medical College Innovation Team (Natural Science: CBYTD-2025A04), the Doctoral Research Startup Fund Project of the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College (BS10001, CBY19-QD01), and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship project of North Sichuan Medical College (XJ202510634159, XJ202510634155, XJ202510634157, XJ202510634153, XJ202510634151).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: Chong Yin, Xingyu Wang, Yingying Luo, Ye Tian, Bing Yang, Wei Chen, Bing Guo, Xundong Deng, Guangrong Wang

Formal analysis: Chong Yin, Xingyu Wang, Jing Zhang, Linfeng Liu, Hongqi Han, Guilin Luo, Zhuo Guo, Yingying Luo, Jingxiang Li

Investigation: Chong Yin, Xingyu Wang, Jing Zhang, Linfeng Liu, Hongqi Han, Guilin Luo, Zhuo Guo, Yingying Luo, Conghui Jiang, Rui Pang, Jingxiang Li

Methodology: Chong Yin, Guangrong Wang, Ye Tian, Bing Yang, Wei Chen, Bing Guo, Xundong Deng

Writing-original draft: Chong Yin, Xingyu Wang, Y.Y., Jing Zhang

Writing-review & editing: Chong Yin, Xingyu Wang, Jing Zhang, Linfeng Liu, Hongqi Han, Guilin Luo, Zhuo Guo, Yingying Luo, Conghui Jiang, Rui Pang, Jingxiang Li, Xundong Deng, Guangrong Wang

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Animal care/procedures were sanctioned by the North Sichuan Medical College Ethics Committee (No. 2023078). At all times, we minimized the number of mice and their suffering during animal studies.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author (Guangrong Wang, [e-mail]) on reasonable request.

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