Mallika Ghosh, Fraser McGurk, Rachael Norris, Andy Dong, Sreenidhi Nair, Evan Jellison, Patrick Murphy, Rajkumar Verma, Linda H Shapiro
Implanted medical devices, from artificial heart valves and arthroscopic joints to implantable sensors, often induce a foreign body response (FBR), a form of chronic inflammation resulting from the inflammatory reaction to a persistent foreign stimulus. The FBR is characterized by a subset of multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) formed by macrophage fusion, the foreign body giant cells (FBGCs), accompanied by inflammatory cytokines, matrix deposition, and eventually deleterious fibrotic implant encapsulation. Despite efforts to improve biocompatibility, implant-induced FBR persists, compromising the utility of devices and making efforts to control the FBR imperative for long-term function...
December 27, 2023: Journal of Immunology