Regulation of immune factor secretion by nanofiber microstructures

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Immunology
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Immune factor imbalance disrupts tissue regeneration and causes chronic inflammation.
• Nanofiber microstructures show potential for modulating immune cells in tissue regeneration.
• Mechanisms of nanofiber influence on immune factor secretion are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how nanofiber microstructures affect immune factor secretion.
• To explore the potential of aligned nanofibers in promoting tissue regeneration.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of nanofibers with varying degrees of alignment.
• In vitro analysis of immune factor secretion from immune cells cultured on nanofibers.
• In vivo experiments to assess the effects of aligned nanofibers on wound healing.

Main Results:

• Highly aligned nanofibers significantly increased anti-inflammatory factors (TGF-β1, IL-10) and decreased pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-6).
• These effects were mediated by immune cell adhesion receptors and mechanotransduction pathways.
• In vivo, aligned nanofibers improved the wound immune microenvironment, promoting angiogenesis and accelerating tissue regeneration.

Conclusions:

• Nanofiber microstructures can precisely modulate immune cell secretory function.
• Aligned nanofibers establish a pro-regenerative immune microenvironment, enhancing tissue repair.
• This approach offers a new paradigm for designing programmable immunoregulatory biomaterials for regenerative medicine.