About this Research Topic
Immunomodulatory strategies modulate the responses of immune cells after tissue defect via offering a suitable microenvironment for maintaining immune homeostasis, which plays a critical role in tissue development, repair, regeneration, and rehabilitation. In recent years, biomaterials-induced immunomodulation has gained great interest in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Particularly, bioactive hydrogels with unique (bio)physicochemical features are increasingly promising immunomodulatory biomaterials for the repair and rehabilitation of anisotropic tissues (e.g., nerve, tendon, blood vessel, bone, heart, etc.), because of their prominent characteristics such as their good biocompatibility and biodegradation, natural extracellular matrix-like structure, tunable mechanical properties, and suitable diffusion nature.
Recent progress in immunomodulatory manners based on bioactive hydrogels plays a critical role via (i) physical characteristics (e.g., topographical patterns, viscoelasticity, dimensionality); (ii) chemical features (e.g., charge, surface free energy, functional groups) and (iii) bio-functional factors (e.g., drug, growth factor, cells). Thus, optimizing these properties and elucidating their interaction mechanisms with immune cells (i.e., lymphocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes/macrophages) will contribute to developing high-performance immune-instructive hydrogels for tissue repair and rehabilitation.
The aim of this Research Topic is to offer new insights into the frontier of immunomodulatory bioactive hydrogels and their interplay with immune cells, where principles of rational design have been employed to further basic understanding of immunomodulatory bioactive hydrogels for the repair and rehabilitation of anisotropic tissues. We welcome the submission of Reviews, Original Research articles, Perspectives, and Methods covering the following topics:
1. Novel Immune cell-mediated hydrogels for tissue repair and rehabilitation;
2. Immunomodulatory via the mechanosensing and mechanotransduction based on hydrogels;
3. Application of immune-instructive hydrogels in flexible electronic devices in vivo tissue rehabilitation;
4. Toxicology evaluation on immune-instructive hydrogels;
5. The underlying mechanisms and interactions between immune-instructive hydrogel and cell/tissue/organ.
Recent progress in immunomodulatory manners based on bioactive hydrogels plays a critical role via (i) physical characteristics (e.g., topographical patterns, viscoelasticity, dimensionality); (ii) chemical features (e.g., charge, surface free energy, functional groups) and (iii) bio-functional factors (e.g., drug, growth factor, cells). Thus, optimizing these properties and elucidating their interaction mechanisms with immune cells (i.e., lymphocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes/macrophages) will contribute to developing high-performance immune-instructive hydrogels for tissue repair and rehabilitation.
The aim of this Research Topic is to offer new insights into the frontier of immunomodulatory bioactive hydrogels and their interplay with immune cells, where principles of rational design have been employed to further basic understanding of immunomodulatory bioactive hydrogels for the repair and rehabilitation of anisotropic tissues. We welcome the submission of Reviews, Original Research articles, Perspectives, and Methods covering the following topics:
1. Novel Immune cell-mediated hydrogels for tissue repair and rehabilitation;
2. Immunomodulatory via the mechanosensing and mechanotransduction based on hydrogels;
3. Application of immune-instructive hydrogels in flexible electronic devices in vivo tissue rehabilitation;
4. Toxicology evaluation on immune-instructive hydrogels;
5. The underlying mechanisms and interactions between immune-instructive hydrogel and cell/tissue/organ.
Keywords: bioactive hydrogels, immunomodulatory, tissue repair, rehabilitation, materiobiology
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