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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.07.31.231852

Mast Cells Contribute to the Immunomodulatory Effect of the Biomaterial Microenvironment in a Gender Specific Manner

Wang, R. M.·Ungerleider, J.·Kawakami, Y.·Kawakami, T.·Christman, K.
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Abstract

Bioactive immunomodulatory biomaterials have shown promise for influencing the immune response to promote tissue repair and regeneration. Macrophages and T cells have been associated with this response; however, other immune cell types have been traditionally overlooked. In this study, we investigated the role of mast cells in the regulation of the immune response to decellularized biomaterial scaffolds using a subcutaneous implant model. In mast cell-deficient mice, there was dysregulation of the expected M1 to M2 macrophage transition typically induced by the biomaterial scaffold. Polarization progression deviated in a sex specific manner with an early transition to an M2 profile in female mice, while the male response was unable to properly transition past a pro-inflammatory M1 state. Both were reversed with adoptive mast cell transfer. Further investigation of the later stage immune response in male mice determined a greater sustained pro-inflammatory gene expression profile including the IL-1 cytokine family, IL-6, alarmins, and chemokines. These results highlight mast cells as another important cell type that influences the immune response to pro-regenerative biomaterials.

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Wang, R. M., Ungerleider, J., Kawakami, Y., Kawakami, T., Christman, K.. 2020-08-02. Mast Cells Contribute to the Immunomodulatory Effect of the Biomaterial Microenvironment in a Gender Specific Manner. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.31.231852

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