Modulation of Innate Immune Response for Tissue Engineering

The number of biomaterial scaffolds for tissue engineering applications continues to rise and holds promise for regenerative medicine. However, the complexity of the immune response poses a challenging environment for implanted biomaterial scaffolds for tissue repair. Specifically, the innate immune responses characterized by tissue infiltrating neutrophils and macrophages have been shown to govern either pro-inflammatory or tissue reparative microenvironments at the local site of tissue injury depending on their activation and phenotypic status. Thus, a selective strategy for developing immune-modulatory biomaterial scaffolds to improve the modulation of innate immune reactions may offer attractive features for tissue regeneration. The focus of this chapter is to discuss recent progress in the development of biomaterial scaffolds for modulating immune responses and their potential application for tissue repair. Specifically, important design variables for fabricating immuno-modulatory biomaterial scaffolds are highlighted.