Randomized clinical study of injectable dextrin-based hydrogel as a carrier of a synthetic bone substitute

AUTHORS

Alexandra Machado, Isabel Pereira, Filomena Costa, Ana Brandão, José Eduardo Pereira, Ana Colette Maurício, José Domingos Santos, Inês Amaro, Rui Falacho, Rui Coelho, Nuno Cruz & Miguel Gama

ABSTRACT

Objectives

This study aimed to improve the performance and mode of administration of a glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite synthetic bone substitute, Bonelike by Biosckin® (BL®), by association with a dextrin-based hydrogel, DEXGEL, to achieve an injectable and moldable device named DEXGEL Bone.

Methods

Twelve participants requiring pre-molar tooth extraction and implant placement were enrolled in this study. BL® granules (250–500 µm) were administered to 6 randomized participants whereas the other 6 received DEXGEL Bone. After 6 months, a bone biopsy of the grafted area was collected for histological and histomorphometric evaluation, prior to implant placement. The performance of DEXGEL Bone and BL® treatments on alveolar preservation were further analyzed by computed tomography and Hounsfield density analysis. Primary implant stability was analyzed by implant stability coefficient technique.

Results

The healing of defects was free of any local or systemic complications. Both treatments showed good osseointegration with no signs of adverse reaction. DEXGEL Bone exhibited increased granule resorption (p = 0.029) accompanied by a tendency for more new bone ingrowth (although not statistically significant) compared to the BL® group. The addition of DEXGEL to BL® granules did not compromise bone volume or density, being even beneficial for implant primary stability (p = 0.017).

Conclusions

The hydrogel-reinforced biomaterial exhibited an easier handling, a better defect filling, and benefits in implant stability.

Clinical relevance

This study validates DEXGEL Bone safety and performance as an injectable carrier of granular bone substitutes for alveolar ridge preservation.

Trial registration

European Databank on Medical Devices (EUDAMED) No. CIV-PT-18–01-02,705; Registo Nacional de Estudos Clínicos, RNEC, No. 30122.

A Zeb1/MtCK1 metabolic axis controls osteoclast activation and skeletal remodeling

AUTHORS

Lingxin Zhu, Yi Tang, Xiao-Yan Li, Samuel A Kerk, Costas A Lyssiotis, Wenqing Feng, Xiaoyue Sun, Geoffrey E Hespe, Zijun Wang, Marc P Stemmler, Simone Brabletz, Thomas Brabletz, Evan T Keller, Jun Ma, Jung-Sun Cho, Jingwen Yang, Stephen J Weiss

ABSTRACT

Osteoclasts are bone-resorbing polykaryons responsible for skeletal remodeling during health and disease. Coincident with their differentiation from myeloid precursors, osteoclasts undergo extensive transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming in order to acquire the cellular machinery necessary to demineralize bone and digest its interwoven extracellular matrix. While attempting to identify new regulatory molecules critical to bone resorption, we discovered that murine and human osteoclast differentiation is accompanied by the expression of Zeb1, a zinc-finger transcriptional repressor whose role in normal development is most frequently linked to the control of epithelial-mesenchymal programs. However, following targeting, we find that Zeb1 serves as an unexpected regulator of osteoclast energy metabolism. In vivo, Zeb1-null osteoclasts assume a hyperactivated state, markedly decreasing bone density due to excessive resorptive activity. Mechanistically, Zeb1 acts in a rheostat-like fashion to modulate murine and human osteoclast activity by transcriptionally repressing an ATP-buffering enzyme, mitochondrial creatine kinase 1 (MtCK1), thereby controlling the phosphocreatine energy shuttle and mitochondrial respiration. Together, these studies identify a novel Zeb1/MtCK1 axis that exerts metabolic control over bone resorption in vitro and in vivo.

Sugar transporter Slc37a2 regulates bone metabolism in mice via a tubular lysosomal network in osteoclasts

AUTHORS

Pei Ying Ng, Amy B. P. Ribet, Qiang Guo, Benjamin H. Mullin, Jamie W. Y. Tan, Euphemie Landao-Bassonga, Sébastien Stephens, Kai Chen, Jinbo Yuan, Laila Abudulai, Maike Bollen, Edward T. T. T. Nguyen, Jasreen Kular, John M. Papadimitriou, Kent Søe, Rohan D. Teasdale, Jiake Xu, Robert G. Parton, Hiroshi Takayanagi & Nathan J. Pavlos

ABSTRACT

Osteoclasts are giant bone-digesting cells that harbor specialized lysosome-related organelles termed secretory lysosomes (SLs). SLs store cathepsin K and serve as a membrane precursor to the ruffled border, the osteoclast’s ‘resorptive apparatus’. Yet, the molecular composition and spatiotemporal organization of SLs remains incompletely understood. Here, using organelle-resolution proteomics, we identify member a2 of the solute carrier 37 family (Slc37a2) as a SL sugar transporter. We demonstrate in mice that Slc37a2 localizes to the SL limiting membrane and that these organelles adopt a hitherto unnoticed but dynamic tubular network in living osteoclasts that is required for bone digestion. Accordingly, mice lacking Slc37a2 accrue high bone mass owing to uncoupled bone metabolism and disturbances in SL export of monosaccharide sugars, a prerequisite for SL delivery to the bone-lining osteoclast plasma membrane. Thus, Slc37a2 is a physiological component of the osteoclast’s unique secretory organelle and a potential therapeutic target for metabolic bone diseases.

High-Energy, Whole-Body Proton Irradiation Differentially Alters Long-Term Brain Pathology and Behavior Dependent on Sex and Alzheimer’s Disease Mutations

AUTHORS

Robert G. Hinshaw, Maren K. Schroeder, Jason Ciola, Curran Varma, Brianna Colletti, Bin Liu, Grace Geyu Liu, Qiaoqiao Shi, Jacqueline P. Williams, M. Kerry O’Banion, Barbara J. Caldarone and Cynthia A. Lemere

ABSTRACT

Whole-body exposure to high-energy particle radiation remains an unmitigated hazard to human health in space. Ongoing experiments at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory and elsewhere repeatedly show persistent changes in brain function long after exposure to simulations of this unique radiation environment, although, as is also the case with proton radiotherapy sequelae, how this occurs and especially how it interacts with common comorbidities is not well-understood. Here, we report modest differential changes in behavior and brain pathology between male and female Alzheimer’s-like and wildtype littermate mice 7–8 months after exposure to 0, 0.5, or 2 Gy of 1 GeV proton radiation. The mice were examined with a battery of behavior tests and assayed for amyloid beta pathology, synaptic markers, microbleeds, microglial reactivity, and plasma cytokines. In general, the Alzheimer’s model mice were more prone than their wildtype littermates to radiation-induced behavior changes, and hippocampal staining for amyloid beta pathology and microglial activation in these mice revealed a dose-dependent reduction in males but not in females. In summary, radiation-induced, long-term changes in behavior and pathology, although modest, appear specific to both sex and the underlying disease state.

Mitochondrial fragmentation and donut formation enhance mitochondrial secretion to promote osteogenesis

AUTHORS

Joonho Suh, Na-Kyung Kim, Wonn Shim, Jae Hyuck Jang, Jung-Eun Kim, Yun-Sil Lee

ABSTRACT

Mitochondrial components have been abundantly detected in bone matrix, implying that they are somehow transported extracellularly to regulate osteogenesis. Here, we demonstrate that mitochondria and mitochondrial-derived vesicles (MDVs) are secreted from mature osteoblasts to promote differentiation of osteoprogenitors. We show that osteogenic induction stimulates mitochondrial fragmentation, donut formation, and secretion of mitochondria through CD38/cADPR signaling. Enhancing mitochondrial fission and donut formation through Opa1 knockdown or Fis1 overexpression increases mitochondrial secretion and accelerates osteogenesis. We also show that mitochondrial fusion promoter M1, which induces Opa1 expression, impedes osteogenesis, whereas osteoblast-specific Opa1 deletion increases bone mass. We further demonstrate that secreted mitochondria and MDVs enhance bone regeneration in vivo. Our findings suggest that mitochondrial morphology in mature osteoblasts is adapted for extracellular secretion, and secreted mitochondria and MDVs are critical promoters of osteogenesis.

Ablation of myeloid discoidin domain receptor 2 exacerbates arthritis and high fat diet induced inflammation

AUTHORS

Qingyun Liu, Xiaolong Wang, Yazhuo Chen, Xiao Ma, Xiaomin Kang, Fang He, Dongxu Feng, Yan Zhang

ABSTRACT

Chronic systemic inflammation leads to sever disorders and diseases. It is of great importance to explore novel target for effective treatment. Discoidin domain receptor 2 (Ddr2) is a member of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family and is implicated in skeletal and fat hemostasis. However, the role of Ddr2 in myeloid cells remains obscure. In this study, we conditionally deleted Ddr2 in myeloid lineage cells to generate cKO mice to investigate the role of Ddr2 in myeloid lineage cells. We found that cKO mice exhibited more severe inflammation both in collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, indicating the protective role of Ddr2 against inflammation. Mechanistically, Ddr2 promotes macrophage repolarization from the M1 to M2 phenotype, and protect against systemic inflammation. Our study reveals for the first time that Ddr2 modulates macrophage repolarization and plays critical roles in macrophage-mediated inflammation, providing potential target for the intervention of inflammation and related diseases.