Scavenging of Dickkopf-1 by macromer-based biomaterials covalently decorated with sulfated hyaluronan displays pro-osteogenic effects

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), a Wnt inhibitor secreted by bone marrow stromal cells (MSC), is known to play an important role in long-term non-union bone fracture defects and glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis. Mitigating its effects in early bone defects could improve osteogenesis and bone defect healing. Here, we applied a biomaterial strategy to deplete a defect environment from DKK1 by scavenging the protein via a macromer-based biomaterial covalently decorated with sulfated hyaluronan (sHA3). The material consisted of cross-copolymerized three-armed macromers with a small anchor molecule. Using the glycidyl anchor, polyetheramine (ED900) could be grafted to the material to which sHA3 was efficiently coupled in a separate step. For thorough investigation of material modification, flat material surfaces were generated by fabricating them on glass discs. The binding capability of sHA3 for DKK1 was demonstrated in this study by surface plasmon resonance measurements. Furthermore, the surfaces demonstrated the ability to scavenge and inactivate pathologic amounts of DKK1 from complex media. In a combinatory approach with Wnt3a, we were able to demonstrate that DKK1 is the preferred binding partner of our sHA3-functionalized surfaces. We validated our findings in a complex in vitro setting of differentiating SaOS-2 cells and primary hMSC. Here, endogenous DKK-1 was scavenged resulting in increased osteogenic differentiation indicating that this is a consistent biological effect irrespective of the model system used. Our study provides insights in the mechanisms and efficiency of sHA3 surface functionalization for DKK1 scavenging, which may be used in a clinical context in the future.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)76-89
Number of pages14
JournalActa Biomaterialia
Volume114
Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85088111764
PubMed 32673749
ORCID /0000-0002-8691-8423/work/142235984
ORCID /0000-0002-5611-9903/work/142244028
ORCID /0000-0001-7097-9953/work/142255924

Keywords

Keywords

  • Biocompatible Materials, Cell Differentiation, Hyaluronic Acid, Osteogenesis, Sulfates