Capitol News

Researchers at Michigan State University have made progress in reducing the rejection of medical implants by reprogramming immune cells. The study, led by Ashley Makela, a senior research associate at the MSU Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, explored novel methods to prevent implant rejection.

Makela's team employed a drug known as a metabolic modulator, which can either enhance or suppress specific body reactions. This drug was integrated into amorphous polylactide, a material commonly used for making medical implants. The modified biomaterial was then tested in mice.

Intravital microscopy was used to monitor the response of various immune cells around the implant site over ten weeks. The results showed promising signs of reduced implant rejection rates.

"Our findings have significant implications for improving patient recovery times, reducing postsurgical complications like chronic inflammation and implant rejection and potentially saving costs," said Makela. "And they may eventually affect the way medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical scientists approach medical implants."

The research involved collaboration with members from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School. "No one person could have done this on their own," Makela emphasized.

This study has been published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.