title: Osteopontin (OPN) is an important protein to mediate improvements in the biocompatibility of C ion-implanted silicone rubber.
abstract: Medical device implants are drawing increasing amounts of interest from modern medical practitioners. However, this attention is not evenly spread across all such devices; most of these implantable devices can cause adverse reactions such as inflammation, fibrosis, thrombosis, and infection. In this work, the biocompatibility of silicone rubber (SR) was improved through carbon (C) ion implantation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results confirmed that these newly generated carbon-implanted silicone rubbers (C-SRs) had large, irregular peaks and deep valleys on their surfaces. The water contact angle of the SR surface decreased significantly after C ion implantation. C ion implantation also changed the surface charge distribution, silicone oxygen rate, and chemical-element distribution of SR to favor cell attachment. The dermal fibroblasts cultured on the surface C-SR grew faster and showed more typical fibroblastic shapes. The expression levels of major adhesion proteins, including talin-1, zyxin, and vinculin, were significantly higher in dermal fibroblasts cultured on C-SR coated plates than in dermal fibroblasts cultured on SR. Those same dermal fibroblasts on C-SRs showed more pronounced adhesion and migration abilities. Osteopontin (OPN), a critical extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, was up-regulated and secreted from dermal fibroblasts cultured on C-SR. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity was also increased. These cells were highly mobile and were able to adhere to surfaces, but these abilities were inhibited by the monoclonal antibody against OPN, or by shRNA-mediated MMP-9 knockdown. Together, these results suggest that C ion implantation significantly improves SR biocompatibility, and that OPN is important to promote cell adhesion to the C-SR surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shao-liang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiao-hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yi-ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li-ru
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ze-yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dong-li
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D053495:Osteopontin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012826:Silicone Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D012826:Silicone Elastomers; D053495:Osteopontin; D002244:Carbon; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9