Recently, Dr. Yufei Ma has published a paper ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering entitled "Bioprinting-based PDLSC-ECM Screening for in vivo Repair of Alveolar Bone Defect using Cell-laden, Injectable and Photocrosslinkable Hydrogels ".

Stem cell-based approach combined with injectable hydrogels has been proposed as a promising strategy in periodontal treatments. But how the stem cells fate controlled by their extracellular matrix (ECM) characteristics still need to be study. In this paper, PDLSC-laden GelMA/PEGDA hydrogels with varying composition were efficiently fabricated by controlling the volume ratio of two different injectable and photocrosslinkable hydrogels via a 3D bioprinting platform. Comparing of PDLSC behavior and osteogenic differentiation in vitro at different ECM composition ratios, the most optimized composite hydrogel was selected. Subsequently, in vivo study indicated a maximal and robust new bone formation in the defects treated with the PDLSC-laden hydrogel with optimized composition. The bioprinting-based strategy would be useful for studying cell-ECM interaction in 3D, screening an appropriate ECM for in vivo repair of alveolar bone defect and paving the way for regeneration of functional tissue.

The work is under the guidance of Dr. Min Lin and Dr. Xiaohui Zhang. The co-authors of this paper include Yuan Ji, Tianyu Zhong, Wanting Wan, Dr. Qingzhen Yang and Dr. Ang Li.

Artical online：http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00601