Wei Cao, Jianfeng Jin, Gang Wu, Nathalie Bravenboer, Marco N. Helder, Janak L. Pathak, Behrouz Zandieh-Doulabi, Jolanda M. A. Hogervorst, Shingo Matsukawa, Lester C. Geonzon, Rommel G. Bacabac, Engelbert A. J. M. Schulten, Jenneke Klein-Nulend
Current cell-based bone tissue regeneration strategies cannot cover large bone defects. K-carrageenan is a highly hydrophilic and biocompatible seaweed-derived sulfated polysaccharide, that has been proposed as a promising candidate for tissue engineering applications. Whether κ-carrageenan can be used to enhance bone regeneration is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether κ-carrageenan has osteogenic potential by testing its effect on pre-osteoblast proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in vitro. Treatment with κ-carrageenan (0.5 and 2 mg/mL) increased both MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast adhesion and spreading at 1 h. K-carrageenan (0.125–2 mg/mL) dose-dependently increased pre-osteoblast proliferation and metabolic activity, with a maximum effect at 2 mg/mL at day three. K-carrageenan (0.5 and 2 mg/mL) increased osteogenic differentiation, as shown by enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity (1.8-fold increase at 2 mg/mL) at day four, and matrix mineralization (6.2-fold increase at 2 mg/mL) at day 21. K-carrageenan enhanced osteogenic gene expression (Opn, Dmp1, and Mepe) at day 14 and 21. In conclusion, κ-carrageenan promoted MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast adhesion and spreading, metabolic activity, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation, suggesting that κ-carrageenan is a potential osteogenic inductive factor for clinical application to enhance bone regeneration. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Department of Oral Cell Biology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, 1081 LA, Netherlands; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/Oral Pathology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers and Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Netherlands; Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Netherlands; Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Basic and Applied Research of Oral Regenerative Medicine, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, 113-8654, Japan; School of Life and Environmental Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Japan; Department of Physics, Medical Biophysics Group, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines
