This article was submitted to Biomaterials, a section of the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
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Decalcified bone matrix has great potential and application prospects in the repair of bone defects due to its good biocompatibility and osteogenic activity. In order to verify whether fish decalcified bone matrix (FDBM) has similar structure and efficacy, this study used the principle of HCl decalcification to prepare the FDBM by using fresh halibut bone as the raw material, and then degreasing, decalcifying, dehydrating and freeze-drying it. Its physicochemical properties were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and other methods, and then its biocompatibility was tested by
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Bone tissue repair has always been a hot topic in biomedical research. In recent years, the number of patients with bone defects due to an ageing population, trauma, infections, bone tumors and congenital malformations has remained high and the demand for bone repair materials is increasing day by day (
Bone grafting or implantation of bone materials such as autologous bone, allogeneic bone and artificial bone materials are often required in the treatment of patients with bone defects. Autologous bone grafting is often seen as the best means of repairing bone defects in medicine (
DBM is an artificial bone material obtained by decalcifying biological bone. It is a bone tissue engineering scaffold material with collagen as the main component and also contains non-collagenous proteins and lower concentrations of growth factors, with good biocompatibility and biodegradability (
Currently, the DBM used in clinical practice is mainly derived from the skull, femur and tibia of terrestrial animals such as pigs, cattle, dogs and rabbits. Although they are easy to obtain, they carry a risk of transmitting diseases such as avian influenza, swine influenza and odontogenic diseases. Especially, the DBM of bovine origin carries a high risk of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and other potential viruses that may be transmitted to humans (
This study was conducted to determine whether a decalcified bone matrix prepared from fish bones meets the requirements for a bone repair material and whether it has the ability to promote bone repair. In this study, fish bone from flounder was used as raw material, and the FDBM was obtained after a series of treatments, and its physicochemical properties and biocompatibility were tested. At the same time, an animal model of femoral defect in rats was established, and commercially available BDBM was used as the control group, and the area of femoral defect in rats was filled with the two materials respectively. The changes in the implant material and the repair of the defect area were observed by various aspects such as imaging and histology, and its osteoinductive repair capacity and degradation properties were studied.
FDBM was prepared by the laboratory itself using halibut bone. BDBM was purchased from a conventional medical equipment manufacturer. Female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (200–220 g) were purchased from Jinan Pengyue Experimental Animal Breeding Co Ltd (Jinan, China). New Zealand White rabbits (2–2.5 kg) were purchased from Qingdao Kangda Biotechnology Co Ltd (Qingdao, China). All other chemicals were of analytical grade and no further purification was required for use. All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Theory Committee of Yantai Lundy Biotechnology Co Ltd (approval number: LDSW2022037).
This preparation process uses fresh halibut fish bones as raw material (
Preparation of fish decalcified bone matrix (FDBM).
The shape and morphology of the prepared FDBM was observed. Then, the structures of FDBM were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The FDBM was cut into small pieces of 0.1 cm*0.1 cm and fixed on the sample table by conductive adhesive. After the surface was sprayed with gold, the surface, porosity, pore size and internal structure of the FDBM was observed by SEM (S-4800, HITACHI, Japan).
The FDBM (cylinders of 0.5 cm diameter and 0.5 cm height) were fixed on a universal testing machine at room temperature and the specimens were crushed at a rate of 2 mm/min until the FDBM pellets were crushed into flakes (CMT8502, MTS systems, China). The compressive strength was calculated from the measured pressure values. The mean value was taken from three parallel measurements under the same conditions. The standard deviation was calculated and presented as mean ± standard deviation (
Anhydrous ethanol was added to the measuring cylinder and the volume was recorded as V1. The cylinder was then placed in a vacuum desiccator and evacuated to allow the ethanol to enter the pores of the material until no air bubbles escaped, at which point the volume was recorded as V2. Finally, the FDBM was removed and the remaining volume of ethanol was recorded as V3. The porosity of the FDBM was calculated according to the equation and the data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (
In the formula: V1 is the initial ethanol volume; V2 is the total volume of FDBM after submersion in ethanol; V3 is the remaining ethanol volume.
1) Establishment of calcium standard curve: Weigh 10 g analytically pure CaCO3 powder at 110°C in a beaker and gradually add 1 M HCl dropwise to the beaker until it is completely dissolved. The volume is then fixed to 100 ml in a volumetric flask. This calcium standard solution has a Ca2+ concentration of 1 mol/L. Dilute them into 5 parts of calcium standard solution of 1 mol/L, 0.8 mol/L, 0.6 mol/L, 0.4 mol/L and 0.2 mol/L respectively. The absorbance of the Ca2+ concentration of each group was observed under visible spectrophotometer 422.7 nm and the value was recorded as A. The relationship between n and A was analyzed and fitted to give the calcium standard curve equation:
In the formula: (2) Determination of total calcium in fish bones:1 g undecalcified fish bone was placed in a beaker, 5 ml concentrated H2SO4 was added and the beaker was placed on the electrothermal furnace. Continue to raise the temperature when the fish bones are black and sticky. Gradually add HClO4 solution dropwise to the beaker and continue heating to make it clear and transparent. After cooling, the final volume was adjusted to 50 ml by adding deionized water. A suitable volume of liquid was taken and the absorbance was measured under visible spectrophotometer 422.7 nm. The value was recorded as A. The total calcium content of the fish bones was calculated from the regression equation in 1). (3) Determination of calcium content in fish bone decalcification solution: A suitable volume of decalcifying solution was taken and the absorbance was measured under visible spectrophotometer 422.7 nm. The value was recorded as A. The calcium content of the fish bone decalcification solution was calculated according to the regression equation in 1). (4) Calculation of decalcification rate:
In the formula: S is the calcium content in decalcification solution; T is the total calcium in fish bones.
Six pieces of prepared FDBM were divided into six groups at room temperature, immersed in deionized water for 10 min and then suspended on a table. When no water drops fell from the samples, each group was weighed and the mass recorded as m. The samples were then freeze-dried, weighed again and the mass recorded as m1. Each group was repeated 3 times and the average was taken.
In the formula, m is the mass of FDBM after immersion in water, and m1 is the mass of FDBM after freeze-drying.
Six pieces of FDBM were taken, weighed and placed in a 6-well culture plate, one piece per well. 6 ml of artificial degradation solution (0.1 mol/L PBS) was added to each well, and then placed the plate in a 37°C incubator for degradation. The FDBM was removed at weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, freeze-dried and weighed, and the rate of mass loss was calculated by averaging. After each recording was completed, the physiological degradation solution was replaced with an equal amount to continue the degradation. The degradation rate of the FDBM was calculated for each time period (2 weeks for each time period) and a degradation rate curve was plotted.
In the formula, A0 is the mass of FDBM at one time point before degradation, and A1 is the mass of FDBM at one time point after degradation.
In order to evaluate the cytotoxicity, proliferation rate and adhesion of FDBM, we chose mouse fibroblasts (L929) as co-cultured cells with FDBM.
Under aseptic condition, 5 g FDBM were placed in 30 ml DMEM high glucose (DMEM-H) complete medium and extracted at 37°C with 80 rpm for 24 h to obtain cell culture medium. The cytotoxicity was detected by CCK-8 method. L929 cells are cultured with the DMEM-H system containing 10% FBS. According to the standard of 8×103/well, L929 cells at logarithmic growth stage were inoculated in a 96-well plate with a volume of 100 μL per well. The upper layer of the cell culture medium was discarded after the cells adhered to the wall and formed monolayers. Then the mixture of 200 μl cell culture medium and extraction solution were sequentially added to the 96-well plate according to the proportion of 25, 50%, and 100%. After co-culture with cells for 24 h, each well was equipped with 100 μl CCK-8 solution (10 μl CCK-8 in 90 μl medium) according to the instructions of CCK-8 kit (Biosharp, China). Then the culture plate was incubated at 37°C and 5% CO2 for 2 h, and the optical density (OD) value was detected at 450 nm by microplate reader (Infinite F50, Tecan, Switzerland).
In the formula, As is the absorbance of wells with cells, CCK8 solution and leachate, Ac is the absorbance of wells with cells, CCK8 solution and no extraction solution, and Ab is the absorbance of wells with medium and CCK8 solution and no cells.
According to the standard of 1×105 cells per well, 500 μL cell suspension was put into 48-well plate. After the cells adhered to the wall, the original cell culture medium was replaced with the extraction solution. After culturing for 3 days, replace the normal cell culture medium with 1.5 μL propidium iodide and 1 μL calcein-AM (Solarbio, China) in PBS solution, and incubate for another 30 min. After the sample was gently washed with PBS, fluorescence was excited by 490 nm wavelength under inverted fluorescence microscope (ECHO RVL-100-G, United States), and the distribution of living dead cells was observed.
L929 cells were cultured in a cell incubator at 37°C and 5% CO2. The cells were digested and counted when the cells grew to the logarithmic phase. After 1 ml cell suspension was inserted into a 24-well plate. FDBM was put into the cell suspension, co-cultured with the cells for 24 h, fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution for 24 h and lyophilized. The cells were observed for adhesion, infiltration and growth on the surface and inside the bone material by scanning electron microscope.
Twelve SD rats were randomly divided into four groups and each group consists of seven rats. After the rats were anesthetized with 10% chloral hydrate at a dose of 0.4ml/100g, their backs were depilated within the 1 cm*1 cm area. After alcohol disinfection, the full-thickness skin openings of 0.5 cm were opened at 1.5 cm on both sides of the dorsal spine. Then FDBM and BDBM were placed on the left and right sides, respectively, and sutured. After all rats were awakened, the rats were observed for their living condition, mental status and feeding.
On the 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 28th day after the operation, one group of rats were sacrificed respectively, and the embedded FDBM and BDBM were took out, which were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. After 24 h of fixation, the tissues were embedded in paraffin and sectioned in routine paraffin for HE and Masson staining. Finally, the morphology and cell infiltration of FDBM and BDBM were observed under light microscope.
Under aseptic condition, 5 g FDBM were placed in 30 ml normal saline and extracted at 37°C with 80 rpm for 24 h to obtain the extraction solution of FDBM. 2 ml fresh anticoagulant blood was taken from healthy SD rats and 8 ml normal saline was added to dilute it. 10 ml FDBM extraction solution were prepared as experimental group. At the same time, the same amount of deionized water was used as the positive control group and the same amount of normal saline as the negative control group. Then 200 μl SD rats’ blood was added to test tubes from three groups, which are mixed thoroughly and incubated at 37°C for 60 min. After incubation, the tubes were centrifuged at 2500 rpm speed for 5 min in a high-speed centrifuge. After centrifugation, the hemolysis was observed, and the absorbance was measured with an ultraviolet spectrophotometer at 545 nm wavelength.
In the formula, A1 is the average absorbance of FDBM group, A2 is the average absorbance of normal saline group, and A3 is the average absorbance of deionized water group.
The FDBM was tested for pyrogen by reference to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition). The extraction solution of FDBM was obtained by the method in 2.4.3, placed in a water bath and preheated to 38°C. Then three normal New Zealand White rabbits were taken and their body temperature was measured. 25 ml extraction solution of FDBM was slowly injected from each rabbit’s ear marginal vein, and then the temperature change was measured in real time over a 3 h period using the same online real-time thermometer. After the measurement was complete, the highest temperature during the entire test was used to subtract the normal body temperature of the rabbit as the number of degrees of increase in body temperature for this test. If all temperatures measured throughout are lower than normal body temperature, record as 0°C.
Forty-five SPF-grade 10-week-old female rats (200–220 g) were randomly divided into three groups of fifteen rats each. 10% chloral hydrate was injected intraperitoneally according to 0.4 ml/100 g body weight ratio. Aseptic operation was maintained during the operation. After rats were placed in a supine position, the hair on the inner side of the leg was removed and the skin was exposed and disinfected with 75% alcohol. Then a 1 cm skin incision was made along the left femur, the skin and muscle layers were spread along the femur in turn to expose the femoral stem. The periosteum was then separated to expose the middle and upper part of the femoral stem. The rat’s femur was drilled with a 2 mm diameter drill, the drill was moved up and down to create a bone defect area of approximately 2 × 3 mm2. The holes were flushed with sterile saline to quickly remove the bone fragments.
After the bone defects model was prepared, FDBM and BDBM were implanted into the bone defect area of different group, and the defect area was adequately filled. The self-healing group did not do any treatment. After implantation, the wound was closed with sutures and 400,000 units of penicillin were injected into the other thigh muscle to prevent infection. Normal feeding after operation.
After the operation, the rats’ spirit, feeding, activity and wound healing were recorded daily. The effect of the surgery and the implant material on the rats was judged according to their behavior and reaction status. At the same time, the occurrence of redness, swelling, oozing and pus at the operative site was recorded. Five rats in each group were euthanized at the fourth, 8th and 12th weeks after operation, and the whole femur was removed. The muscles, fascia and other tissues on the femur were cleared and then the bone defect area was observed for the state of the material, the state of healing and the presence of infection.
The femur in 2.4.2 was fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 24 h. The specimen was removed and washed three times with PBS buffer (pH 7.0) before CT radiography was performed to observe the bone repair of the defect site and the degradation of the implant material.
The rat femurs were put into the EDTA decalcification solution and placed in a constant temperature shaker at 37°C, 50 rpm for 1 month, during which time the EDTA decalcification solution was changed once a week. After decalcification was completed, the rat femurs were washed with distilled water, routinely dehydrated, embedded in paraffin, sectioned and then subjected to HE and Masson staining. The ability of the bone material to repair bone defects was evaluated by observing the degradation of the bone materials, the cell type and status of the bone defect area, and the bone repair at the defect site. New bone formation was evaluated semi-quantitatively at the 4-week time point with reference to the histological outcome assessment criteria in “YY/T 1680–2020
The FDBM was prepared from flounder fish bones through a process of defatting, decalcifying and freeze-drying. The freeze-dried FDBM is faintly yellow, hard and dense. As a whole, its shape resembles that of a cylinder with a diameter and height of 0.5 cm. From the side, its shape is irregular, with two large ends and a thin middle part. In the determination of calcium content in FDBM, the relationship between n and A was analyzed and fitted to give the calcium standard curve equation: ρ = 0.9078n + 0.0585 (R2 = 0.9995). In the formula: ρ is the absorbance value corresponding to the concentration of Ca2+; n is the amount-of-substance concentration of calcium ions, mol/L. After calculation, the average decalcification rate of FDBM is 78.41 ± 5.73%. Normally DBM has the disadvantage of poor mechanical properties, so we did not completely decalcify it during the preparation of FDBM. This approach allows the FDBM to maintain good mechanical strength without compromising the repair effect. This facilitates the better use of FDBM in bone tissue engineering. In the process of tissue repair, materials with higher porosity can provide a wider space for cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. The results show that the porosity of FDBM is 72.56 ± 4.67%, which basically meets the requirements of an ideal bone tissue engineering material.
The mechanical strength of the FDBM was measured using the compression test method and the first turning point of the compression curve was defined as the mechanical strength.
Mechanical strength diagram of FDBM (n = 3)
The hydrophilicity of biomaterials is an important parameter in tissue engineering applications, and good hydrophilicity facilitates cell adhesion, growth and differentiation (
Water absorption in each group (n = 3, per group).
Groups | Before absorbing water ( |
After absorbing water ( |
Water absorption (%) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 0.0351 ± 0.0026 | 0.0674 ± 0.0046 | 92.11 |
2 | 0.0324 ± 0.0027 | 0.0604 ± 0.0045 | 86.47 |
3 | 0.0273 ± 0.0033 | 0.0515 ± 0.0051 | 88.83 |
4 | 0.0311 ± 0.0025 | 0.0572 ± 0.0047 | 83.72 |
5 | 0.0333 ± 0.0024 | 0.0590 ± 0.0049 | 77.31 |
6 | 0.0316 ± 0.0032 | 0.0602 ± 0.0065 | 90.30 |
The ideal bone repair scaffold should have a highly interconnected porous structure that provides a biological environment conductive to cell adhesion and proliferation as well as tissue growth and nutrient flow (
Electron microscope scan of FDBM.
Cell metabolism can be affected by cytotoxic materials. After the Calcein AM-PI staining, the living cells were green and the dead cells were red (
Live-Dead staining of L929 cells cultured by FDBM extraction solution after culturing for 3 days (green for living cells and red for dead cells; magnification, ×40).
Cell proliferation rate. The horizontal coordinate is the proportion of FDBM extraction solution to the cell culture medium. A is 100%; B is 50%; C is 25%. (There was no significant difference between the three data sets.) (n = 6).
Electron microscope picture of the adhesion and growth of L929 cells on FDBM.
The results of the hemolysis test (
The result diagram of FDBM hemolysis (A is distilled water, B is FDBM extraction solution, C is normal saline) (n = 10 per group).
OD and hemolysis rate in each group (n = 10, per group).
Groups | OD ( |
Average hemolysis rate (%) |
---|---|---|
Fish decalcified bone matrix (FDBM) | 0.031 ± 0.004 | 1.55 |
Physiological saline (NS) | 0.012 ± 0.002 | - |
Distilled water (DI) | 1.235 ± 0.005 | - |
The entry of substances with immunogenicity into the body induces an immune rejection reaction, which is manifested externally by increased body temperature and poor mental status (
Temperature test curve of New Zealand white rabbits. A, B and C are tests on three New Zealand White rabbits (Test every 30 min Six tests in total.).
After the DBM was buried subcutaneously in the rats, the rats lived in good condition and ate normally during the observation period. There was no immune rejection and allergic reactions such as swelling, redness, or seeping pus in the area of the implantation. The histological staining of subcutaneously implanted DBM is shown in
The results of HE and Masson staining are obtained by subcutaneously embedded FDBM and BDBM. The tissues were taken for H&E and Masson staining on the third, seventh, 14th and 28th day after implantation (magnification, ×40). F is the FDBM group, B is the BDBM group (The red arrows show the implanted bone matrix).
All the rats in the bone defect model woke up within 1 h after surgery, and their mental and dietary conditions were slightly poor for the first 3 days, and returned to normal after 3 days. During the whole experimental cycle, the surgical area of the rats healed well and no obvious symptoms of infection such as swelling, redness, or seeping pus were observed.
Effect of repairing femoral defect (B: BDBM group; F: FDBM group; C: Self-healing group).
From this, it can be tentatively judged that the prepared FDBM has good ability to induce bone repair and that it repairs bone defects faster than commercially available BDBM. It can be used as a potential clinical bone repair material.
The femurs of the rats removed in 3.3.1 were subjected to CT radiographs and the image data were analyzed to observe bone repair at the defect site and degradation of the implant material (
CT radiographic observation (B: BDBM group; F: FDBM group; C: Self-healing group).
At week 8 postoperatively, CT images showed varying degrees of shrinkage of the bone crust in the area of the bone defect in all three groups. In the self-healing group, the bone scab structure was the largest, and the FDBM group had a smaller bone scab structure compared to the BDBM group. In addition, the area of hypodense shadow was significantly reduced in the FDBM group, and the density of the defect area was close to that of normal femoral tissue, indicating that new bone tissue was being produced along the edges of the defect area towards the center, but complete healing of the entire defect area had not yet been achieved. In contrast, the femoral defect area in the BDBM group recovered slightly less well.
At week 12 postoperatively, only about 1/4 of the defect area in the FDBM group was slightly less dense than the high-density area, while the rest of the area was not significantly different from normal femoral tissue. This indicates that the FDBM has been resorbed, degraded and mature new bone tissue has formed at the edges and within the defect area. There is no longer any bone crust structure present on the image. The difference between the BDBM group and the FDBM group was not significant, with only a small portion of the defective area being slightly less dense than the high-density area, while the rest of the repaired defective area did not differ significantly in bone structure and density from the normal area. The self-healing group still had a large amount of bone scab structure present and the defect area showed a large hypodense shadow, mostly not replaced by new bone tissue, with poor recovery.
The CT results showed that the FDBM was superior to the BDBM in terms of speed of bone healing and denseness of the bone tissue formed, indicating that the FDBM has good osteogenic ability and is a good material for bone repair.
The results of HE staining (
The H&E staining map of bone defects in rats. The tissues were taken for H&E staining at weeks 4, 8 and 12 after implantation (magnification, ×40).
Masson staining showed (
The Masson staining map of bone defects in rats. The tissues were taken for Masson staining at weeks 4, 8 and 12 after implantation (magnification, ×40).
Combining the two staining results, it was found that the FDBM did not cause any immune response in the rats and had good biocompatibility. It also has good osteogenic induction, which can guide osteoblasts to grow in and form mature bone, new bone and osteoid at the edges of the defect area and within the material to fuse with the autologous femur. The FDBM group produced more new bone tissue and trabeculae in the early stages of repair than the BDBM group, and had better overall repair capacity. While new bone was formed, the material gradually degraded and had good degradation properties in the animals. The results show that the FDBM has the ability to be used as a bone repair material.
Semi-quantitative analysis showed (
New bone formation score for femoral repair at 4 weeks. (C: Self-healing group; B: BDBM group; F: FDBM group) (**: Significant difference compared to the self-healing group,
In reality, it is very common for people to suffer from bone defects as a result of work-related injuries, accidental injuries or injuries of medical origin. Currently, the implantation of bone tissue engineering repair materials remains the most effective method of treating patients with bone defects. Various types of bone tissue engineering materials have been widely used in clinical practice due to their excellent bone repair properties (
As a tissue engineering scaffold for bone defect repair medicine, it must have the characteristics of good porosity, mechanical strength, biocompatibility and biodegradability. The porosity of collagen materials increases with their internal surface area. During tissue repair, higher porosity of collagen materials can provide a wider space for cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. The results of scanning electron microscopy show that FDBM has a high porosity and basically meets the requirements of an ideal bone tissue engineering material. The mechanical strength is an important indicator to evaluate the mechanical properties of the scaffold, which indicates the effective load-bearing capacity of the mate rial and determines the tolerance to mechanical loading during the process from new tissue growth to the degradation of the scaffold matrix (
The rate of degradation of bone tissue engineered scaffolds is mainly determined by the nature of the material itself and the local physiological environment after implantation.
The critical size defect (CSD) is the most commonly used model for evaluating materials for bone defect repair. Schmitz et al. define CSD as the smallest bone defect in a particular bone of a particular animal that does not heal over its lifetime (
The repair of bone defects is a long and complex process. The safety and efficacy of the obtained FDBM were evaluated by bone defect repair testing in rats for 12 weeks, and compared with BDBM that have been used in clinical practice for many years. The results show that FDBM is slightly more effective than BDBM in repairing bone defects, and that it has a good
In this study, we prepared FDBM from halibut fish bone and characterized its properties. The results showed that the FDBM has good porosity, mechanical strength, biodegradability and biocompatibility, which is conductive to cell infiltration, adhesion and growth. Its good bone repair ability was confirmed in a rat bone defect model, and it can effectively induce the growth of new bone tissue, and its repair speed and quality are better than those of the commercially available BDBM. The FDBM is an artificial bone material with good application prospects, which can basically meet the clinical requirements for bone tissue repair materials.
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.
The animal study was reviewed and approved by the Animal Theory Committee of Yantai Lundy Biotechnology Co Ltd (approval number: LDSW2022037).
Conceptualization, ZL and LW; methodology, ZL, LW, XJ, and KW; validation, ZL, YZ and TL; formal analysis, ZL, YZ, and TL; resources, ZL and LW; data curation, ZL; writing—original draft preparation, ZL; writing—review and editing, ZL, LW, and JG; funding acquisition, LW and JG. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
This work was supported by Department of Science and Technology of Shandong Province (No. 2019JZZY011103).
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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