Recombinant Human Lactoferrin Injectable Hydrogel as an Osteogenic Biomaterial

The bidirectional signaling of lactoferrin (LF) that suppresses osteoclastogenesis and enhances osteoblast proliferation and survival supports the notion that LF is a strong candidate for bone tissue engineering. The proposed studies were aimed to increase our understanding of the effect of recombinant human LF (rhLF) in modulating skeletal cells and further establish rhLF crosslinked gel as an excellent candidate for a skeletal regenerative biomaterial. In situ formation of injectable biomaterials has several advantages as cell delivery vehicles. In this study, the biological properties rhLF were utilized as the building block, to develop the engineered cell delivery system. These studies reported the development of a novel injectable cell delivery vehicle that can significantly improve cell survival and osteogenic functions by serving as a biomaterial ligand to induce receptor mediated cell signaling of encapsulated cells. Furthermore, the bioactive rhLF gel matrix was shown to promote cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. The positive effects of rhLF gel on cellular processes supports the notion that rhLF gel is a strong candidate for bone tissue engineering.