Event Abstract Back to Event Microporous polymer scaffolds that control innate immunity for enhanced islet transplant Michael Gower1, Jeffrey Liu2 and Lonnie D. Shea2 1 University of South Carolina, Chemical Engineering, United States 2 University of Michigan, Biomedical Engineering, United States Biomaterial scaffolds are central to many regenerative strategies as they create a space for infiltration of host tissue and provide a platform to deliver growth factors and progenitor cells. However, biomaterial implantation results in an unavoidable inflammatory response that impairs tissue regeneration and promotes loss or dysfunction of transplanted cells. Porous poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) scaffolds have been developed that provide a platform for islet transplant, reversing diabetes with a fraction of the islets isolated from a healthy mouse pancreas. However, transplant of allogeneic and xenogeneic tissue, which is of clinical relevance, requires the control of immunity by immunosuppressive drugs. We investigated localized delivery of immunomodulatory factors to control the immune environment around biomaterial scaffolds and transplanted cells. Scaffolds designed to release IL-10, TGF-β1, CCL22, and resveratrol were implanted into intraperitoneal fat, a site frequently used for cell transplantation. Expression of cytokines including TNF-α, IL-12, and MCP-1 and immune cell infiltration into the implant site were monitored by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. Implant of scaffolds that released IL-10 and TGF-β1, significantly decreased the inflammatory response to scaffold implant. Transplantation of islets into diabetic mice on TGF-β1 scaffolds significantly improved the ability of syngeneic islets to control blood glucose levels within the first week of transplant and delayed rejection of allogeneic islets. Together, these studies emphasize the ability of localized TGF-β1 delivery to modulate the immune response to biomaterial implant and enhance cell function in cell-based therapies. Keywords: Regenerative Medicine, Scaffold Conference: 10th World Biomaterials Congress, Montréal, Canada, 17 May - 22 May, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Biomaterials in immune response Citation: Gower M, Liu J and Shea LD (2016). Microporous polymer scaffolds that control innate immunity for enhanced islet transplant. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. Conference Abstract: 10th World Biomaterials Congress. doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.01.02220 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Mar 2016; Published Online: 30 Mar 2016. Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Michael Gower Jeffrey Liu Lonnie D Shea Google Michael Gower Jeffrey Liu Lonnie D Shea Google Scholar Michael Gower Jeffrey Liu Lonnie D Shea PubMed Michael Gower Jeffrey Liu Lonnie D Shea Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.