This study reports that a methacrylic acid (MAA)‐based copolymer coating generates constructive remodeling of polypropylene (PP) surgical mesh in a subcutaneous model. This coating is non‐bioresorbable and follows the architecture of the mesh without impeding connective tissue integration. Following implantation, the tissue response is biased toward vascularization instead of fibrosis. The vessel density around the MAA mesh is double that of the uncoated mesh two weeks after implantation. This initial vasculature regresses after two weeks while mature vessels remain, suggesting an enhanced healing response. Concurrently, the MAA coating alters the foreign body response to the mesh. Fewer infiltrating cells, macrophages, and foreign body giant cells are found at the tissue–material interface three weeks after implantation. The coating also dampens inflammation, with lower expression levels of pro‐inflammatory and fibrogenic signals (e.g., Tgf‐β1, Tnf‐α, and Il1‐β) and similar expression levels of anti‐inflammatory cytokines (e.g., Il10 and Il6) compared to the uncoated mesh. Contrary to other coatings that aim to mitigate the foreign body response to PP mesh, a MAA coating does not require the addition of any biological agents to have an effect, making the coated mesh an attractive candidate for soft tissue repair.
Impaired blood vessel formation limits
the healing of diabetic
ulcers and leaves patients at high risk for amputation. Nonbiologic
vascular regenerative materials made of methacrylic acid (MAA) copolymer,
such as MAA-co-methyl methacrylate beads, have shown
to enhance wound healing in a diabetic animal model, but their lack
of biodegradability precludes their clinical implementation. Here,
a new MAA-based gel was created by cross-linking polyMAA with collagen
using carbodiimide chemistry. Using this gel on full-thickness wounds
in diabetic db/db mice augmented vascularization of the wound bed,
resulting in a faster closure compared to untreated or collagen-only
treated wounds. After 21 days, almost all the wounds were closed and
re-epithelialized in the polyMAA-collagen group compared to that in
the other groups in which most wounds remained open. Histological
and fluorescent gel tracking data suggested that the gel resorbed
during the phase of tissue remodeling, likely because of the action
of macrophages that colonized the gel. We expect the addition of the
polyMAA to commercially available collagen-based dressing to be a
good candidate to treat diabetic ulcers.
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