Inflammatory reaction induced by agarose implants reduced by adding adrenal cells to the polymer

Microencapsulation of adrenal cells is proposed for reducing the non-specific inflammatory reaction observed around polymer implants. This hypothesis was tested by comparing both host cellular reaction and the surrounding graft cell populations that appeared when either agarose embedded cells or empty agarose beads were implanted. The authors' results showed that the fibrotic material that surrounded the implanted empty agarose microbeads was not as severe when adrenal cells were present. Similarly, the T lymphocyte population surrounding the graft was considerably reduced, along with the percentage of CD4 and CD8 positive cell subpopulations. The activation macrophage marker IaD disappeared. The authors' results support the hypothesis that embedded adrenal cells may be a suitable solution for reducing early inflammatory events due to microcapsule implantation.