TY  - EJOU
AU  - Wang, Xingdan 
AU  - Yang, Lei 
AU  - Liu, Renmeng 
AU  - Du, Yuheng 
AU  - Li, Zhihuan 
AU  - Zhang, Xinyue 
AU  - Zhu, Linhao 
AU  - Ren, Ni 

TI  - Schisandra Lignans- and MSCs-Laden Microgels Attenuate Inflammation on LPS-Induced HepG2 Cells in a PEGNB Hydrogel Model
T2  - Journal of Polymer Materials

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 0976-3449

AB  - 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.
KW  - PEGNB hydrogel; mesenchymal stromal cells; microfluidics; hepatitis; anti-inflammation

DO  - 10.32604/jpm.2026.081663