Osteoclast-Driven Polydopamine-to-Dopamine Release: An Upgrade Patch for Polydopamine-Functionalized Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Polydopamine, a mussel-inspired self-adherent polymer of dopamine, has impressive adhesive properties and thus is one of the most versatile approaches to functionalize tissue engineering scaffolds. To date, many types of polydopamine-functionalized scaffolds have been manufactured and extensively applied in bone tissue engineering at the preclinical stage. However, how polydopamine is biodegraded and metabolized during the bone healing process and the side effects of its metabolite remain largely unknown. These issues are often neglected in the modern manufacture of polydopamine-functionalized materials and restrict them from stepping forward to clinical applications. In this study, using our bioinspired polydopamine-laced hydroxyapatite collagen calcium silicate material as a representative of polydopamine-functionalized tissue engineering scaffolds, we discovered that polydopamine can be metabolized to dopamine specifically by osteoclasts, which we termed “osteoclast-driven polydopamine-to-dopamine release”. The released dopamine showed an osteoinductive effect in vitro and promoted bone regeneration in calvarial critical-sized defects. The concept of “osteoclast-driven polydopamine-to-dopamine release” has considerable application potential. It could be easily adopted by other existing polydopamine-functionalized scaffolds: just by recruiting osteoclasts. Once adopted, scaffolds will obtain a dopamine-releasing function, which enables their modulation of osteoblast activity and hence elevates the osteoinductive effect. Thus, “osteoclast-driven polydopamine-to-dopamine release” serves as an upgrade patch, which is useful for many existing polydopamine-functionalized materials.