Open AccessPrevention of the foreign body response to implantable medical devices by inflammasome inhibition
Author(s) -
Damiano G. Barone,
Alejandro CarnicerLombarte,
Panagiotis Tourlomousis,
Russell S. Hamilton,
Malwina Prater,
Alexandra L. Rutz,
Ivan B. Dimov,
George G. Malliaras,
Stéphanie Lacour,
Avril A. B. Robertson,
Kristian Franze,
James W. Fawcett,
Clare E. Bryant
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2115857119
Subject(s) - pyrin domain , inflammasome , neuroscience , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , receptor , biology
Significance Implantable electronic medical devices (IEMDs) are used for some clinical applications, representing an exciting prospect for the transformative treatment of intractable conditions such Parkinson’s disease, deafness, and paralysis. The use of IEMDs is limited at the moment because, over time, a foreign body reaction (FBR) develops at the device–neural interface such that ultimately the IEMD fails and needs to be removed. Here, we show that macrophage nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activity drives the FBR in a nerve injury model yet integration of an NLRP3 inhibitor into the device prevents FBR while allowing full healing of damaged neural tissue to occur.