Abstract
Polymers that can activate the immune system may become useful biomaterials tools, given that the mechanisms underlying their actions are well understood. Herein, we report a novel type of interaction between polymers and immune cells-in studying the influence of the three major types of carrageenan (CGN) polysaccharides on monocyte behaviour in vitro, we found only the λ-type induced monocyte adhesion and this action requires the presence of an adequate amount of serum. Further analyses indicated λ-CGN bound interleukin-8 (IL-8) in the serum and activated the cultured monocytes through an IL-8-dependent pathway. This is the first demonstration that a polymer, with a renowned immunostimulatory effect, activates the immune system via binding and harnessing the function of a specific cytokine in the microenvironment. This is a new mechanism underlying polymer-immunity interactions that may shed light on future design and application of biomaterials tools targeting the immune system for a wide variety of therapeutic applications.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 403-407 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Biomaterials Science |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Biomedical Engineering
- General Materials Science