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Graphene family nanomaterials (GFNs) are highly popular in the field of bone tissue engineering because of their excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and ability to promote the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. GFNs play a multifaceted role in promoting the bone regeneration microenvironment. First, GFNs activate the adhesion kinase/extracellularly regulated protein kinase (FAK/ERK) signaling pathway through their own micromorphology and promote the expression of osteogenesis-related genes. Second, GFNs adapt to the mechanical strength of bone tissue, which helps to maintain osseointegration; by adjusting the stiffness of the extracellular matrix, they transmit the mechanical signals of the matrix to the intracellular space with the help of focal adhesions (FAs), thus creating a favorable physiochemical microenvironment. Moreover, they regulate the immune microenvironment at the site of bone defects, thus directing the polarization of macrophages to the M2 type and influencing the secretion of relevant cytokines. GFNs also act as slow-release carriers of bioactive molecules with both angiogenic and antibacterial abilities, thus accelerating the repair process of bone defects. Multiple types of GFNs regulate the bone regeneration microenvironment, including scaffold materials, hydrogels, biofilms, and implantable coatings. Although GFNs have attracted much attention in the field of bone tissue engineering, their application in bone tissue regeneration is still in the basic experimental stage. To promote the clinical application of GFNs, there is a need to provide more sufficient evidence of their biocompatibility, elucidate the mechanism by which they induce the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells, and develop more effective form of applications.

Currently, cell transplantation in combination with scaffold materials are one of the main strategies in periodontal bone tissue engineering. In periodontal bone tissues, the stiffness and spatial structure of tissues such as alveolar bone and cementum differ, and the difference in mechanical properties of scaffolds also has disparate effects on the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Accumulating evidence shows that mechanical stimulating factors such as matrix stiffness and scaffold topography modulate biological behaviors of various seeding cells, including adipose-derived stem cells and periodontal ligament stem cells. A hard matrix can promote cytoskeletal stretching of stem cells, leading to nuclear translocation of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and promoting osteogenic differentiation by upregulating alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN) via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The topologic structure of scaffolds can affect cell adhesion and cytoskeletal remodeling, increase the hardness of cells and promote the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. In this paper, the effects of mechanical stimulation on the differentiation of stem cells in periodontal bone tissue engineering are reviewed.

Endothelial regeneration is a research hotspot in the field of dental pulp. The regeneration of endodontic blood flow is the bottleneck of dental pulp regeneration, and the applied scaffold material is the key to revascularization. Stent materials were reviewed. The literature review Results show that, depending on the source of the stent material used for endodontic revascularization, there are mainly natural, synthetic and composite materials. The natural scaffold materials used for vascular regeneration include chitosan, hyaluronic acid, bacterial cellulose, and proanthocyanidin; artificial scaffold materials include hydrogel, cryogel, and electrospinning. The bionic composite scaffold system with a double-layer tubular structure is low immunogenicity and good biocompatibility. Studies on the scaffold materials of bionic extracellular matrix, such as injectable hydrogels/microspheres, have promoted the development of dental pulp regeneration, that is, uniformly distributed scaffold materials in the root canal promote the generation of pulp-like tissue; Whether dental pulp tissue can establish effective blood circulation through the apical foramen remains a great challenge.