A bioactive glass functional hydrogel enhances bone augmentation via synergistic angiogenesis, self-swelling and osteogenesis
Fujian Zhao, Zhen Yang, Huacui Xiong, Yan Yang, Xiaofeng Chen, Longquan Shao
Abstract
Bone augmentation materials usually cannot provide enough new bone for dental implants due to the material degradation and mucosal pressure. The use of hydrogels with self-swelling properties may provide a higher bone augmentation, although swelling is generally considered to be a disadvantage in tissue engineering. Herein, a double-crosslinked gelatin-hyaluronic acid hydrogels (GH) with self-swelling properties were utilized. Meanwhile, niobium doped bioactive glasses (NbBG) was dispersed in the hydrogel network to prepare the GH-NbBG hydrogel. The composite hydrogel exhibited excellent biocompatibility and the addition of NbBG significantly improved the mechanical properties of the hydrogel. In vivo results found that GH-NbBG synergistically promoted angiogenesis and increased bone augmentation by self-swelling at the early stage of implantation. In addition, at the late stage after implantation, GH-NbBG significantly promoted new bone formation by activating RUNX2/Bglap signaling pathway. Therefore, this study reverses the self-swelling disadvantage of hydrogels into advantage and provides novel ideas for the application of hydrogels in bone augmentation.