ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: It is known that physico/chemical alterations on biomaterial surfaces have the capability to modulate cellular behavior, affecting early tissue repair. Such surface modifications are aimed to improve early healing response and, clinically, offer the possibility to shorten the time from implant placement to functional loading. Since FAK and Src are intracellular proteins able to predict the quality of osteoblast adhesion, this study evaluated the osteoblast behavior in response to nanometer scale titanium surface texturing by monitoring FAK and Src phosphorylations. METHODOLOGY: Four engineered titanium surfaces were used for the study: machined (M), dual acid-etched (DAA), resorbable media microblasted and acid-etched (MBAA), and acid-etch microblasted (AAMB). Surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, interferometry, atomic force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Thereafter, those 4 samples were used to evaluate their cytotoxicity and interference on FAK and Src phosphorylations. Both Src and FAK were investigated by using specific antibody against specific phosphorylation sites. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The results showed that both FAK and Src activations were differently modulated as a function of titanium surfaces physico/chemical configuration and protein adsorption. CONCLUSIONS: It can be suggested that signaling pathways involving both FAK and Src could provide biomarkers to predict osteoblast adhesion onto different surfaces.
Subject(s)
Biocompatible Materials/chemistry , Biocompatible Materials/pharmacology , Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/metabolism , Nanotechnology , Titanium/chemistry , Titanium/pharmacology , src-Family Kinases/metabolism , 3T3 Cells , Adsorption , Animals , Biocompatible Materials/toxicity , Cell Differentiation/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 6/metabolism , Engineering , Enzyme Activation/drug effects , Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects , Mice , Osteoblasts/cytology , Osteoblasts/drug effects , Osteoblasts/metabolism , Phosphorylation/drug effects , Surface Properties , Time Factors , Titanium/toxicityABSTRACT
Aim. This study aimed to observe the morphological and molecular effect of laminin-1 doping to nanostructured implant surfaces in a rabbit model. Materials and Methods. Nanostructured implants were coated with laminin-1 (test; dilution, 100 µg/mL) and inserted into the rabbit tibiae. Noncoated implants were used as controls. After 2 weeks of healing, the implants were removed and subjected to morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gene expression analysis using the real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results. SEM revealed bony tissue attachment for both control and test implants. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of osteoblast markers RUNX-2, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, and collagen I was higher (1.62-fold, 1.53-fold, 1.97-fold, and 1.04-fold, resp.) for the implants modified by laminin-1 relative to the control. All osteoclast markers investigated in the study presented higher expression on the test implants than controls as follows: tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (1.67-fold), calcitonin receptor (1.35-fold), and ATPase (1.25-fold). The test implants demonstrated higher expression of inflammatory markers interleukin-10 (1.53-fold) and tumour necrosis factor-α (1.61-fold) relative to controls. Conclusion. The protein-doped surface showed higher gene expression of typical genes involved in the osseointegration cascade than the control surface.