Bin Li, Ph.D.
Professor, Orthopedic Institute,
Soochow University
binli@suda.edu.cn
Biography:Professor Bin Li received the bachelor degree in Polymeric Materials Science and Chemical Engineering from the Department of Chemical Engineering of Tsinghua University in 1996. He received the PhD degree in Materials Science from Tsinghua University in 2001. He then worked as a Research Associate at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore from 2001 to 2004. After that he pursued postdoctoral training at the Department of Orthopaedics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine from 2005 to 2009. He also completed two short-term trainings as a visiting research scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in 2004 and Harvard University in 2009, respectively. He joined Soochow University in 2009 as a Specially Appointed Professor and director of the Biomaterials and Cell Mechanics Laboratory (BCML) of Orthopedic Institute. He is the recipient of a number of awards such as Jiangsu Provincial Medical Specialist, Suzhou Science & Technology Development Award, Orthopaedics Research Award from Chinese Orthopaedic Association, Xu Guangqi Program from the French Embassy in China, and France Talent Innovation from the Consulate General of France in Shanghai. He currently serves as the chair of Membership Committee of the International Chinese Musculoskeletal Research Society (ICMRS). He is a fellow of Chinese Orthopaedic Research Society (CORS), Chinese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (CAOS), Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine (CARM), and International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (SICOT). He serves on the editorial board of 6 journals, and is the guest editor of 3 journals and reviewer for over 70 journals. He has delivered more than 100 invited talks and is the author of 110 journal articles and 10 book chapters. His research interests include orthopaedic biomaterials, stem cells and tissue engineering, cellular biomechanics and mechanobiology.
Topic title：Multimodal mechano-regulation toward annulus fibrosus regeneration
Abstract：Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is the leading cause of low back pain, a serious global health problem which contributes to healthcare costs significantly. While it is promising to repair degenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs) using tissue engineering techniques, such an approach largely relies on the effective construction of annulus fibrosus (AF), a major load-bearing component of IVD. However, because of the tremendous cellular, biochemical, microstructural, and biomechanical heterogeneity of AF tissue, it remains challenging to fabricate AF replacements that are biologically and functionally comparable to native AF tissue.Recently, we started to employ a tissue engineering strategy based upon layer-by-layer assembly and multimodal mechano-modulation in order to mimic the layered structure and to address the heterogeneity feature of AF tissue as well. In brief, we isolated multipotent AF-derived stem cells (AFSCs) for AF tissue engineering. We then synthesized a series of biodegradable polyurethanes and hydrogels with similar elastic modulus as AF tissue. We found that the biochemical and biomechanical profiles of AFSCs were markedly affected by the elastic modulus of scaffolds, implying the feasibility to induce differentiation of AFSCs into cells at different regions of native AF tissue. We also obtained AFSC sheets, i.e., cell monolayers together with the underlying matrix, using novel cell sheet culture techniques. Further, we applied dynamic mechanical stimulation to AFSCs and found that their anabolic and catabolic metabolisms were significantly dependent on the magnitude, frequency and duration of mechanical stimulation. Following these, we will assembly engineered AF tissue, through a layer-by-layer approach, using AFSC sheets primed with substrates of various elasticity and conditioned with appropriate mechanical stimulation. Findings from these studies may provide new insights toward developing engineered AFs whose biological features and mechanical functions approximate those of native AF tissue.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: The authors are grateful to the funding support from the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFC1100203) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31530024, 81672213).REFERENCES
[1] G-L. Chu, Z-Q. Yuan, C-H. Zhu, P-H. Zhou, H. Wang, W-D. Zhang, Y. Cai, X-S. Zhu, H-L. Yang, B. Li. Acta Biomater 2019, 92: 254-264.
[2] L-L. Jia, F-X. Han, H-L. Yang, G. Turnbull, J-Y. Wang, J. Clarke, W-M. Shu, M-Y. Guo, B. Li. Adv Healthc Mater 2019, 1900435.
[3] F-X. Han, C-H. Zhu, Q-P. Guo, H-L. Yang, B. Li. J Mater Chem B 2016, 4: 9-26.
[4] C-H. Zhu, J. Li, C. Liu, P-H. Zhou, H-L. Yang, B. Li. Acta Biomater 2016, 29: 228-238.
[5] Q-P. Guo, C. Liu, J. Li, C-H. Zhu, H-L. Yang, B. Li. J Cell Mol Med 2015, 19(7): 1582-1592.
[6] C. Liu, C-H. Zhu, J. Li, P-H. Zhou, M. Chen, H-L. Yang, B. Li. Bone Res 2015, 3: 15012.
