The influence of melt electrowriting scaffolds with varied strand spacings on ligamentogenic differentiation potentials of PDLSCs
CHEN Yuzhe
WANG Xuan
TIAN Yi
LIU Jingxin
DU Yuxuan
HE Xiaotao
CHEN Faming
Abstract：Objective To prepare melt electrowriting(MEW)scaffolds with varying strand spacings using polycaprolactone(PCL)as the raw material,and investigate the effects of scaffold architecture on cellular extension and ligamentogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells.Methods PCL scaffolds with designed strand spacings(100 μm,250 μm,and 500 μm)were successfully prepared using MEW technology.The morphological characteristics of each group were characterized via scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The cellular extension of PDLSCs was assessed by phalloidin staining.The influence of PCL scaffolds with designed strand spacings on ligamentogenic differentiation potentials of PDLSCs was analyzed by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)and immunofluorescent staining.Results Representative SEM images demonstrated that all scaffolds exhibited uniform grid-like structures with strand spacings consistent with the predefined parameters.In vitro cell experiments showed that the 100 μm-spaced scaffolds significantly guided directional cell extension compared to 250 μm and 500 μm groups(P<0.05).The PDLSCs incubated with 100 μm-spaced scaffolds showed increased expression levels of ligamentogenic differentiation-related genes(COL-1、POSTN、ELASTIN)and proteins(COL-1,POSTN)compared with those incubated in 250,and 500 μm-spaced scaffolds(P<0.05).Conclusion The 100 μm-spaced MEW scaffolds demonstrate superior properties in guiding cellular extension and inducing ligamentogenic differentiation,which provides a novel strategy for periodontal ligament regeneration in periodontitis treatment.
Keywords：ligamentogenic differentiationmelt electrowritingpoly caprolactonestrand spacings
Publication Date：2025-11-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-29(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 621-627 )