Abstract
Bio-inspired coral-derived scaffolds have been adopted for bone regeneration. However, these confront challenges such as the limited osteoinductive properties, environmental concerns, and ambiguous calcification mechanisms in coral proteins. In this study, the role of the recombinant coral protein galaxin in promoting osteogenesis is investigated. The observations reveal that recombinant galaxin regulates the mitochondrial metabolism in mouse pre-osteoblasts by interacting with the β subunit of ATP synthase. This ultimately promotes osteogenesis of pre-osteoblasts. Furthermore, galaxin is integrated with gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and assess the osteogenic potential of the resulting galaxin-GelMA composites in mouse mandibular defects. The observations emphasize the distinctive role of galaxin in regulating mitochondrial functionality and osteogenesis. Additionally, these provide prospective insights for further applications of bio-inspired recombinant coral proteins in regenerative medicine.