Application of a Promising Bone Graft Substitute in Bone Tissue Regeneration: Characterization, Biocompatibility, and In Vivo Animal Study.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of local hydroxyapatite (HA) combined with extracted sea cucumber (Stichopus hermanni) collagen as a promising bone graft substitute on bone remodeling. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and Sprague-Dawley rat model were used to characterize the microstructure, in vitro cytotoxicity, and in vivo bone-healing properties of the investigated biocomposite material. Analytical results found that the hydrothermal reaction-synthesized local HA had a hexagonal close-packed structure. The addition of extracted S. hermanni collagen did not influence the microstructure and functional groups of the local HA. Moreover, the MTT assay indicated that the investigated biocomposite material possessed a good in vitro biocompatibility. The in vivo animal study also revealed that the investigated biocomposite material exhibited the highest number of osteoblasts after 14 days of healing. Therefore, the results demonstrate that the local HA combined with extracted S. hermanni collagen could potentially enhance osteoblast formation in promoting bone healing and regeneration.

The potential of the stem cells composite hydrogel wound dressings for promoting wound healing and skin regeneration: In vitro and in vivo evaluation.

In this study, the wound healing properties of the gelatin-based hydrogel (GBH) wound dressing combined with adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were investigated using the mouse and porcine models. The analytical results showed that the ADSCs harvested from the porcine significantly increased cell growth and promoted cell differentiation (adipogenesis and osteogenesis) in comparison to the ADSCs harvested from the mouse in vitro. Moreover, the in vivo results also indicated that the GBH wound dressing combined with ADSCs and its culture medium could potentially accelerate wound healing in the mouse and porcine models. The ADSCs presented a possibility of recovery from wounds and injuries through skin regeneration. Therefore, both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that the ADSCs can potentially be an effective clinical treatment through the GBH wound dressing, which is a promising evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine for skin regeneration. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 107B: 278-285, 2019.