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Updated: Dec 30, 2025

Multi-Scale Modification of Metallic Implants With Pore Gradients, Polyelectrolytes and Their Indirect Monitoring In vivo
Published on: July 1, 2013
Substance P-embedded multilayer on titanium substrates promotes local osseointegration via MSC recruitment
Caiyun Mu1, Yan Hu1, Yanhua Hou2
1Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. huyan303@cqu.edu.cn kaiyong_cai@cqu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
In this study, the chemokine substance P (SP) was inserted into multilayered systems on titanium (Ti)-based substrates for endogenous mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) recruitment to facilitate bone healing. The multilayer was constructed with cationic chitosan (Chi), SP and anionic gelatin (Gel) via a spin-coater-assisted layer-by-layer (LBL) approach. The characterization results demonstrated that the multilayer system was successfully constructed and was capable of continuously releasing SP for almost 2 weeks. We further confirmed that MSCs grown on SP-modified Ti-based substrates showed improved migration capabilities as well as enhanced secretion of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2, MMP9), rather than enhanced MSC proliferation and differentiation in vitro. In the CD29+/CD90+ double immunofluorescence assay, the Ti/LBL-SP group showed the highest number of MSCs migrating to the peri-implant area after implantation. Consistently, the Ti/LBL-SP implants also significantly enhanced new bone formation according to the results of micro-CT scanning analysis, H&E staining, Masson's trichrome staining and immunohistochemical staining. The obtained results reveal that SP-modified Ti-based substrates were beneficial for bone formation via recruiting endogenous MSCs.

