Hydroxyapatite Nanorods Function as Safe and Effective Growth Factors Regulating Neural Differentiation and Neuron Development

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 33; no. 33; pp. e2100895 - n/a
• Main Authors: Hao, Min, Zhang, Zixian, Liu, Chao, Tian, Yue, Duan, Jiazhi, He, Jianlong, Sun, Zhaoyang, Xia, He, Zhang, Shan, Wang, Shuhua, Sang, Yuanhua, Xing, Guogang, Liu, Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - metabolism; Biomedical materials; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; Differentiation; Durapatite - chemistry; Durapatite - metabolism; Electrophysiological Phenomena; Gene sequencing; Growth factors; Humans; Hydroxyapatite; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - adverse effects; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nanorods; Nanotubes - chemistry; Neural cell transplants; neural stem cells; Neural Stem Cells - drug effects; Neurodegenerative Diseases - therapy; Neurons; Neurons - cytology; RNA, Messenger; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Stem Cell Transplantation; Stem cells; Terbium - chemistry; Transplantation; hydroxyapatite; differentiation; neural stem cells; neurons
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202100895

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation is one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases. However, the slow spontaneous differentiation of NSCs often hampers their application in neural repair. Although some biological growth factors accelerate the differentiation of NSCs, their high cost, short half‐life, and unpredictable behavior in vivo, as well as the complexity of the operation, hinder their clinical use. In this study, it is demonstrated that hydroxyapatite (HAp), the main component of bone, in the form of nanorods, can regulate the neural differentiation of NSCs and maturation of the newly differentiated cells. Culturing NSCs with HAp nanorods leads to the differentiation of NSCs into mature neurons that exhibit well‐defined electrophysiological behavior within 5 days. The state of these neurons is much better than when culturing the cells without HAp nanorods, which undergo a 2‐week differentiation process. Furthermore, RNA‐sequencing data reveal that the neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction pathway is dominant in the enriched differentiated neuronal population. Hence, inorganic growth factors like HAp act as a feasible, effective, safe, and practical tool for regulating the differentiation of NSCs and can potentially be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Accelerating the neural differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) into mature neurons is attractive for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases using an NSC approach. With their slow‐release and long‐acting properties, hydroxyapatite nanorods promote the differentiation of NSCs into mature neurons that exhibit well‐defined electrophysiological behavior within 5 days. It is superior to natural differentiation that requires 2 weeks.