Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the decalcified bone matrix was a potential candidate for bone regeneration. However, the decalcified bone matrix has insufficient bone induction ability, so it cannot repair bone defects alone. Osteoblasts were the main cellular component of bone tissue, and the extracellular matrix secreted by the osteoblasts was one of the main components of bone formation microenvironment. Therefore, this study aims to combine decalcified bone matrix and extracellular matrix to construct a new type of bone reconstruction scaffold. In this study, osteoblasts were cultured on the surface of decalcified bone matrix and then osteoblasts extracellular matrix modified decalcified bone matrix were isolated and prepared to compare and evaluate the characteristics of the two materials, including the extracellular matrix and extracellular matrix residues, cytotoxicity, and bone induction ability. Low cell residue and low content of deoxyribonucleic acid were observed in osteoblasts extracellular matrix modified decalcified bone matrix. Compared with decalcified bone matrix, osteoblasts extracellular matrix modified decalcified bone matrix has more organic matrix proteins in bone tissue, such as type I collagen, osteopontin, and osteocalcin. When cultured on two kinds of materials, rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells have good viability. Compared with decalcified bone matrix group, the expression of osteogenic gene and protein of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in the osteoblasts extracellular matrix modified decalcified bone matrix group was significantly up-regulated. Our results suggest that osteoblasts may be the ideal seed cells to improve the performance of engineered bone scaffolds.