Abstract
Bone defects still pose various challenges in osteology. As one treatment method for bone defects, tissue engineering requires biomaterials with good biocompatibility and stem cells with good differentiation. This study aimed to fabricate a 3D-printed polylactic acid and hydroxyapatite (PLA/HA) composite scaffold with urine-derived stem cells (USCs) to study its therapeutic effect in a rat model of skull defects. USCs were isolated and extracted from the urine of healthy adult males and inoculated onto PLA/HA and PLA scaffolds fabricated by 3D printing technology. A total of 36 skull defect models in eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group (no treatment of the defects), PLA group (treated with PLA scaffolds with USCs), and PLA/HA group (treated with PLA/HA scaffolds with USCs). The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by real-time PCR, microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), and immunohistochemistry at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. We found that the PLA/HA scaffold loaded with USCs effectively promoted new bone regeneration in the defect area. CT images showed that in the PLA/HA group, the defect area was almost entirely covered by newly formed bone (coverage of 96.7 ± 1.6%), and the coverage was greater than that in the PLA group (coverage of 74.6 ± 1.9%) at 12 weeks. Histology and immunohistochemical staining showed the highest new bone formation on the PLA/HA scaffolds containing USCs in the defect site at 12 weeks. These findings demonstrate the broad application prospects of PLA/HA scaffolds with USCs in bone tissue engineering. Graphical abstract.