Chima V Maduka, Mohammed Alhaj, Evran Ural, Oluwatosin M Habeeb, Maxwell M Kuhnert, Kylie Smith, Ashley V Makela, Hunter Pope, Shoue Chen, Jeremy M Hix, Christiane L Mallett, Seock-Jin Chung, Maxwell Hakun, Anthony Tundo, Kurt R Zinn, Kurt D Hankenson, Stuart B Goodman, Ramani Narayan, Christopher H Contag
Polylactide (PLA) is the most widely utilized biopolymer in medicine. However, chronic inflammation and excessive fibrosis resulting from its degradation remain significant obstacles to extended clinical use. Immune cell activation has been correlated to the acidity of breakdown products, yet methods to neutralize the pH have not significantly reduced adverse responses. Using a bioenergetic model, delayed cellular changes are observed that are not apparent in the short-term. Amorphous and semi-crystalline PLA degradation products, including monomeric l-lactic acid, mechanistically remodel metabolism in cells leading to a reactive immune microenvironment characterized by elevated proinflammatory cytokines...
September 22, 2023: Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)