title: Bio-inspired hard-to-soft interface for implant integration to bone.
abstract: Accomplishing full, functional integration at the host-to-biomaterial interface has been a critical roadblock in engineering implants with performance similar to biological materials. Molecular recognition-based self-assembly, coupled with biochemical signaling, may lead to controllable and predictable cellular differentiation at the implant interface. Here, we engineer a bio-inspired interface built upon a chimeric peptide. Binding to the biomaterial interface is achieved using a molecular recognition domain specific for the titanium/titanium alloy implant surface and a biochemical signal guiding stem cells to differentiate by activating the Wnt signaling pathway for bone formation. During a critical period of host cell growth and determination, the bioactive implant interface signals mouse, as well as human, stem cells to differentiate along osteogenic lineages. The Wnt-induced cells show enhanced mineral deposition in an extracellular matrix of their creation and an enhanced gene expression profile consistent with osteogenesis, thereby providing a bone-to-implant interface that promotes bone regeneration.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  This team of authors studied methods for enhanced hard-to-soft interface for implant integration to bone, and demonstrate how a bio-inspired surface built upon a chimeric peptide may be utilized for this purpose.
authors.affiliation: Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: yzhou@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: mlsnead@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Malcolm L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Snead
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering Research Center, School of Engineering, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA. Electronic address: ctamerler@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Candan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamerler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016348:Osseointegration; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000187:drug effects; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D014025:Titanium
keywords: Biomaterial interface; Bone regeneration; Chimeric peptide; Osteogenesis; Wnt signaling