@Article{jpm.2026.081663,
AUTHOR = {Xingdan Wang, Lei Yang, Renmeng Liu, Yuheng Du, Zhihuan Li, Xinyue Zhang, Linhao Zhu, Ni Ren},
TITLE = {Schisandra Lignans- and MSCs-Laden Microgels Attenuate Inflammation on LPS-Induced HepG2 Cells in a PEGNB Hydrogel Model},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Polymer Materials},
VOLUME = {},
YEAR = {},
NUMBER = {},
PAGES = {{pages}},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jpm/online/detail/27609},
ISSN = {0976-3449},
ABSTRACT = {Hepatitis has imposed a substantial burden on human health. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) drives the inflammatory response by triggering downstream signaling, particularly the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Suppressing NF-κB activation represents a promising therapeutic strategy. PEGNB, a polymeric hydrogel, exhibits significant potential due to its superior cytocompatibility. We developed a controlled-delivery microgel platform by encapsulating Schisandra lignans (SLs) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in polyethylene glycol-norbornene (PEGNB) microgels. To mimic an inflammatory hepatic microenvironment <i>in vitro</i>, Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced HepG2 cells were encapsulated in bulk PEGNB hydrogel. The microgel–cell system enabled localized co-delivery of SLs and MSCs paracrine factors to LPS-induced cell-laden hydrogel constructs. SLs were extracted from <i>Schisandra chinensis</i> raw powder, yielding 0.83 mg/g of deoxyschisandrin and 2.51 mg/g of schisandrin. Based on the MTT assay, concentrations ≤ 5.6 μM were selected as a non-cytotoxic working range for subsequent <i>in vitro</i> studies. Microfluidic technology was used to fabricate PEGNB microgels with high monodispersity and diameters ranging from 130–170 μm. PEGNB-based microgels enabled the co-delivery of SLs and MSCs, serving as a polymeric platform for attenuating hepatic inflammatory responses while maintaining high cell viability above 70% and achieving sustained SLs release of 82.31 ± 4.35% over 14 days. In this model, SLs–MSC-laden microgels significantly reduced TNF-α and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression compared with untreated controls, and the combined SLs–MSC treatment produced a greater reduction than either SLs or MSCs alone. These results support PEGNB-based microgel co-delivery of SLs and MSCs as a promising strategy to attenuate inflammatory responses in an <i>in vitro</i> hepatic inflammation model.},
DOI = {10.32604/jpm.2026.081663}
}