Hydrogel-Based Immunomodulatory Strategies for Infected Bone Defects Regeneration: Remodeling the Osteoimmune...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Immunology
• Orthopaedic Medicine

Background:

• Infected bone defects pose significant challenges in reconstructive medicine, often unmet by conventional treatments due to the hostile osteoimmune microenvironment.
• Hydrogel biomaterials are emerging as versatile platforms for bone regeneration, offering advantages like injectability and defect conformity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in hydrogel-based immunomodulatory strategies for infected bone defects.
• To explore how these strategies remodel the osteoimmune microenvironment for enhanced bone repair.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing four key design paradigms: programmed osteogenic microenvironment transformation, metabolic reprogramming, staged immune-osteogenic regulation, and photothermal-immunomodulatory therapy.
• Analyzing the evolution of hydrogels from passive carriers to dynamic immunomodulatory systems.

Main Results:

• Hydrogels can be engineered as dynamic systems that release bioactive agents, reprogram immune metabolism, and coordinate healing processes.
• Four major design paradigms show potential for remodeling the osteoimmune microenvironment for bone regeneration.

Conclusions:

• Hydrogel-based immunomodulatory platforms offer a clinically relevant strategy for integrated infection control and functional bone regeneration in infected bone defects.
• Future directions include engineering multicellular osteoimmune networks, developing precision hydrogels, and utilizing AI in biomaterial design.