StarPEG-Heparin Hydrogels to Protect and Sustainably Deliver IL-4
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
A major limitation for the therapeutic applications of cytokines is their short half-life time. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), known to complex and stabilize cytokines in vivo, are therefore used to form 3D-biohybrid polymer networks capable of aiding the effective administration of Interleukin-4, a key regulator of the inflammatory response. Mimicking the in vivo situation of a protease-rich inflammatory milieu, star-shaped poly(ethylene glycol) (starPEG)-heparin hydrogels and starPEG reference hydrogels without heparin are loaded with Interleukin-4 and subsequently exposed to trypsin as a model protease. Heparin-containing hydrogels retain significantly higher amounts of the Interleukin-4 protein thus exhibiting a significantly higher specific activity than the heparin-free controls. StarPEG-heparin hydrogels are furthermore shown to enable a sustained delivery of the cytokine for time periods of more than two weeks. Primary murine macrophages adopt a wound healing supporting (M2) phenotype when conditioned with Interleukin-4 releasing starPEG-heparin hydrogels. The reported results suggest that GAG-based hydrogels offer valuable options for the effective administration of cytokines in protease-rich proinflammatory milieus such as chronic wounds of diabetic patients.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3157-3164 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Advanced healthcare materials |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 24 |
Publication status | Published - 21 Dec 2016 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 27860466 |
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ORCID | /0000-0003-0189-3448/work/161890428 |
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- biohybrid hydrogels, cytokines, glycosaminoglycan, Interleukin-4, stabilization, sustained release