PRIYANKA CHAKRABORTY, AMITY UNIVERSITY KOLKATA
Discovery of a new hydrogel-based biomaterial is now under trial that, when applied to wounds will trigger a regenerative immune response and will potentially promote reduced scarring, more significant skin healing and complex structured skin tissues resulting in healthier skin. The researchers were aware of the role of the immune response in wound healing but its’ angle towards tissue reconstruction and scar removal is a fascinating revelation. The possibility of tissue designing through various hydrogel biomaterial is not impossible anymore.
Currently, available wound healing hydrogels can effectively sit on the surface of the skin where they prevent the wound from drying. The body forms scar tissues as fast as possible to avoid infection, reduce pain and avoid water loss. Although the MAP hydrogels allow rapid cellular growth and faster repair, the researchers claimed that the formation of complex tissues, like hair follicles and sebaceous gland, was limited in the healed skin.
The human body can recognize and degrade amino acid structures, so the scientists theorized that if they flipped the structure to its mirror image the body would have a harder time breaking the scaffold. After a skin injury, the innate immune response is immediately operated to ensure that foreign substances that enter the body are destroyed. If substances can cross the first immune response, the adaptive immune response kicks in, which target the invading material with more specificity.
As the scientists study the regenerative immune response and their relation to the hydrogel, they are also trying to understand the possibility of its use as an immuno-modulatory platform. The team of scientists are now exploring the best way to release immune triggers from the gel to either induce skin regeneration or develop the hydrogel as a potential vaccine platform.
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Citation:
Griffin, D.R., Archang, M.M., Kuan, C. et al. Activating an adaptive immune response from a hydrogel scaffold imparts regenerative wound healing. Nat. Mater. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00844-w
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