Immune evaluation of biomaterials in TNF-α and IL-1β at mRNA level

Abstract

To examine biomaterial biocompatibility and improve current methods of immunological evaluation TNF-alpha and IL1-beta were used as indicators at mRNA levels. Rat peritoneal macrophages were stimulated with different biomaterials and expression of TNF-alpha and IL1-beta was measured by RT-PCR and compared within different groups. Macrophages that were stimulated with PTFE produced significantly more TNF-alpha and IL1-beta than unstimulated macrophages (p < 0.001). The PLGA, NPG, beta-TCP, and CPC groups also induced moderate TNF-alpha and IL1-beta expression (p < 0.01). TNF-alpha and IL1-beta are sensitive indicators of immune stimulation that can help to monitor the levels of cellular activation induced by different biomaterials. Our findings showed that beta-TCP and CPC had a good biocompability, and CPC was the most biocompatible of all the biomaterials tested. While PTFE and NPG still had side effect because of producing pro-inflammatory cytokines in vitro once implanted.