An In Vitro and Ex Vivo Analysis of the Potential of GelMA Hydrogels as a Therapeutic Platform for Preclinical Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe condition lacking effective treatments. This study explores GelMA hydrogels as a potential therapeutic platform for SCI, focusing on their immunogenicity in the SCI microenvironment. The research identifies 3% GelMA-A as the optimal hydrogel formulation due to its mechanical properties and cytocompatibility. It examines its impact on microglia and macrophages, key immune cells in SCI. The study further investigates the hydrogel's ability to support the culture of spinal cord slices without causing glial reactivity, providing evidence for its potential as an immunotherapeutic platform.

• 1
  3% GelMA-A was identified as the optimal hydrogel formulation due to its mechanical properties and cytocompatibility.
• 2
  3% GelMA-A does not alter the expression profile of key polarization markers in BV2 microglia or RAW264.7 macrophages after 48 h.
• 3
  3% GelMA-A can support the ex vivo culture of primary murine organotypic spinal cord slices for 14 days with no direct effect on glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP+) astrocyte or ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1+) microglia reactivity.