Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration
This study aims to investigate the impact of kappa-carrageenan on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) behavior in terms of biocompatibility and odontogenic differentiation potential when it is utilized as a component for the production of 3D sponge-like scaffolds. For this purpose, we prepared three type...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6465 |
| _version_ | 1797607826399428608 |
|---|---|
| author | Konstantinos Loukelis Foteini Machla Athina Bakopoulou Maria Chatzinikolaidou |
| author_facet | Konstantinos Loukelis Foteini Machla Athina Bakopoulou Maria Chatzinikolaidou |
| author_sort | Konstantinos Loukelis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to investigate the impact of kappa-carrageenan on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) behavior in terms of biocompatibility and odontogenic differentiation potential when it is utilized as a component for the production of 3D sponge-like scaffolds. For this purpose, we prepared three types of scaffolds by freeze-drying (i) kappa-carrageenan/chitosan/gelatin enriched with KCl (KCG-KCl) as a physical crosslinker for the sulfate groups of kappa-carrageenan, (ii) kappa-carrageenan/chitosan/gelatin (KCG) and (iii) chitosan/gelatin (CG) scaffolds as a control. The mechanical analysis illustrated a significantly higher elastic modulus of the cell-laden scaffolds compared to the cell-free ones after 14 and 28 days with values ranging from 25 to 40 kPa, showing an increase of 27–36%, with the KCG-KCl scaffolds indicating the highest and CG the lowest values. Cell viability data showed a significant increase from days 3 to 7 and up to day 14 for all scaffold compositions. Significantly increasing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity has been observed over time in all three scaffold compositions, while the KCG-KCl scaffolds indicated significantly higher calcium production after 21 and 28 days compared to the CG control. The gene expression analysis of the odontogenic markers DSPP, ALP and RunX2 revealed a two-fold higher upregulation of DSPP in KCG-KCl scaffolds at day 14 compared to the other two compositions. A significant increase of the RunX2 expression between days 7 and 14 was observed for all scaffolds, with a significantly higher increase of at least twelve-fold for the kappa-carrageenan containing scaffolds, which exhibited an earlier ALP gene expression compared to the CG. Our results demonstrate that the integration of kappa-carrageenan in scaffolds significantly enhanced the odontogenic potential of DPSCs and supports dentin-pulp regeneration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:35:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aea587efa892445aaa250fb9daa847de |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:35:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-aea587efa892445aaa250fb9daa847de2023-11-17T16:51:30ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-03-01247646510.3390/ijms24076465Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp RegenerationKonstantinos Loukelis0Foteini Machla1Athina Bakopoulou2Maria Chatzinikolaidou3Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, GreeceDepartment of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, GreeceThis study aims to investigate the impact of kappa-carrageenan on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) behavior in terms of biocompatibility and odontogenic differentiation potential when it is utilized as a component for the production of 3D sponge-like scaffolds. For this purpose, we prepared three types of scaffolds by freeze-drying (i) kappa-carrageenan/chitosan/gelatin enriched with KCl (KCG-KCl) as a physical crosslinker for the sulfate groups of kappa-carrageenan, (ii) kappa-carrageenan/chitosan/gelatin (KCG) and (iii) chitosan/gelatin (CG) scaffolds as a control. The mechanical analysis illustrated a significantly higher elastic modulus of the cell-laden scaffolds compared to the cell-free ones after 14 and 28 days with values ranging from 25 to 40 kPa, showing an increase of 27–36%, with the KCG-KCl scaffolds indicating the highest and CG the lowest values. Cell viability data showed a significant increase from days 3 to 7 and up to day 14 for all scaffold compositions. Significantly increasing alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity has been observed over time in all three scaffold compositions, while the KCG-KCl scaffolds indicated significantly higher calcium production after 21 and 28 days compared to the CG control. The gene expression analysis of the odontogenic markers DSPP, ALP and RunX2 revealed a two-fold higher upregulation of DSPP in KCG-KCl scaffolds at day 14 compared to the other two compositions. A significant increase of the RunX2 expression between days 7 and 14 was observed for all scaffolds, with a significantly higher increase of at least twelve-fold for the kappa-carrageenan containing scaffolds, which exhibited an earlier ALP gene expression compared to the CG. Our results demonstrate that the integration of kappa-carrageenan in scaffolds significantly enhanced the odontogenic potential of DPSCs and supports dentin-pulp regeneration.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6465biocompatibilitydental pulp stem cellsdental tissue engineeringodontogenic differentiationscaffoldstissue regeneration |
| spellingShingle | Konstantinos Loukelis Foteini Machla Athina Bakopoulou Maria Chatzinikolaidou Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration International Journal of Molecular Sciences biocompatibility dental pulp stem cells dental tissue engineering odontogenic differentiation scaffolds tissue regeneration |
| title | Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration |
| title_full | Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration |
| title_fullStr | Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration |
| title_short | Kappa-Carrageenan/Chitosan/Gelatin Scaffolds Provide a Biomimetic Microenvironment for Dentin-Pulp Regeneration |
| title_sort | kappa carrageenan chitosan gelatin scaffolds provide a biomimetic microenvironment for dentin pulp regeneration |
| topic | biocompatibility dental pulp stem cells dental tissue engineering odontogenic differentiation scaffolds tissue regeneration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/7/6465 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT konstantinosloukelis kappacarrageenanchitosangelatinscaffoldsprovideabiomimeticmicroenvironmentfordentinpulpregeneration AT foteinimachla kappacarrageenanchitosangelatinscaffoldsprovideabiomimeticmicroenvironmentfordentinpulpregeneration AT athinabakopoulou kappacarrageenanchitosangelatinscaffoldsprovideabiomimeticmicroenvironmentfordentinpulpregeneration AT mariachatzinikolaidou kappacarrageenanchitosangelatinscaffoldsprovideabiomimeticmicroenvironmentfordentinpulpregeneration |