image: Nanoparticles intercept innate immune cells in circulation to alter their relative trafficking between the spleen and the spinal cord. Additionally, the nanoparticles alter the phenotype of the cells, which leads to a microenvironment in the spinal cord that is anti-inflammatory and permissive to regeneration. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Liam Casey (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI).
Using a model of spinal cord injury in mice, researchers report that intravenous injection of nanoparticles, which did not contain active pharmaceutical agents, intercepted immune cells in the blood and reprogrammed the cells' characteristics prior to their arrival at the spinal cord, and that the number of immune cells is decreased at the injury site, reducing damaging inflammation at the injury site as well as scarring; the results also suggest that nanoparticle delivery fosters a regenerative healing environment, promoting functional recovery, according to the authors.
Article #18-20276: "Intravascular innate immune cells reprogrammed via intravenous nanoparticles to promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury," by Jonghyuck Park et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Lonnie D. Shea, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, MI; tel: 734-764-7149; e-mail: ldshea@umich.edu
###
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences