BiomaterialsApr 30, 2025

Growth factor and calcium-binding gel support bone tissue regrowth

Regenerative Health Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Mar 26, 2026

Abstract

GM@BCP hydrogels demonstrated significant potential for bone tissue repair by promoting both osteogenesis and angiogenesis 8 weeks post-operatively.

Calcium ions and a specific peptide can enhance bone matrix formation and support the structure of hydrogels.
Hydrogels loaded with a VEGF-binding peptide can attract VEGF to stimulate blood vessel formation.
Human umbilical vein endothelial cells showed increased viability and growth when exposed to these hydrogels.
The hydrogels were confirmed to be cytocompatible, non-toxic, and bioresorbable.
In vivo testing in a rat skull defect model indicated effective filling of irregular-shaped bone defects.

Simplified

The regeneration of irregular-shaped bone defects remains a perpetuating challenge. Scaffolds with osteogenesis and angiogenesis dual capabilities hold considerable promise for bone tissue repair. The objective of this study was to delineate the synergistic effect of calcium ions (Ca)-recruiting peptide (FVDVT, abbreviated as CP) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-binding prominin-1-derived peptide (DRVQRQTTTVVA, abbreviated as BP) in gelatin methacrylate (GM)-based hydrogels (GM@BCP). BP-loaded hydrogels can recruit VEGF in situ to promote angiogenesis, as well as promote cell viability and growth as revealed by the whole transcriptome RNA sequencing of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). PLA/G@CP short fibers can induce bone matrix mineralization and regulate mechanical behavior of hydrogels. The GM@BCP hydrogels were found to be cytocompatible, non-toxic, and bioresorbable, as well as fill an irregular-shaped bone defect in vivo. Moreover, evaluation in a rat calverial defect model manifested significant promise of GM@BCP hydrogels to promote bone tissue repair by simultaneously inducing osteogenesis and angiogenesis 8 weeks post-operatively. Taken together, our approach of simultaneously harnessing in situ calcium ion (Ca) binding and VEGF recruitment may have broad implications for fracture repair and potentially other related disciplines. 2+ 2+

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Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Growth factor and calcium-binding gel support bone tissue regrowth

Abstract

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Abstract

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