Nanocoating with plant-derived pectins activates osteoblast response in vitro

A new strategy to improve osseointegration of implants is to stimulate adhesion of bone cells, bone matrix formation, and mineralization at the implant surface by modifying surface coating on the nanoscale level. Plant-derived pectins have been proposed as potential candidates for surface nanocoating of orthopedic and dental titanium implants due to 1) their osteogenic stimulation of osteoblasts to mineralize and 2) their ability to control pectin structural changes. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the impact of the nanoscale plant-derived pectin Rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) from potato on the osteogenic response of murine osteoblasts. RG-I from potato pulps was isolated, structurally modified, or left unmodified. Tissue culture plates were either coated with modified RG-I or unmodified RG-I or - as a control - left uncoated. The effect of nanocoating on mice osteoblast-like cells MC3T3-E1 and primary murine osteoblast with regard to proliferation, osteogenic response in terms of mineralization, and gene expression of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), alkaline phosphate (Alpl), osteocalcin (Bglap), α-1 type I collagen (Col1a1), and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (Rankl) were analyzed after 3, 7, 14, and 21 days, respectively. Nanocoating with pectin RG-Is increased proliferation and mineralization of MC3T3-E1 and primary osteoblast as compared to osteoblasts cultured without nanocoating. Moreover, osteogenic transcriptional response of osteoblasts was induced by nanocoating in terms of gene induction of Runx2, Alpl, Bglap, and Col1a1 in a time-dependent manner - of note - to the highest extent under the PA-coating condition. In contrast, Rankl expression was initially reduced by nanocoating in MC3T3-E1 or remained unaltered in primary osteoblast as compared to the uncoated controls. Our results showed that nanocoating of implants with modified RG-I beneficially 1) supports osteogenesis, 2) has the capacity to improve osseointegration of implants, and is therefore 3) a potential candidate for nanocoating of bone implants.