Nanofibrillar Cellulose Hydrogels with Anionic Surface Modifications for Modulating Macrophage Phenotype in 3D Culture.

ABSTRACT: Anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages are highly relevant in various physiological processes ranging from tissue regeneration to cancer progression. However, conventional two-dimensional (2D) in vitro cell cultures limit our understanding of macrophage phenotypes and how they can be modulated for immunotherapeutic approaches. Moreover, there is a growing demand for scalable, animal-free hydrogels to replace animal-derived materials in three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models. In this study, we explore hydrogels based on plant-derived nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC), also known as cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) or microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), for generating 3D in vitro models of M2-like macrophages from human blood monocytes. Notably, flow cytometry analysis shows that cells

SUBMITTER: Heilala M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12278226 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature