Fibrosis in Action 4

Fibrosis in Action 4

Suman Bose, Devina Thiono, Lisa Volpatti, Volkan Yesilyurt, Robert Langer, Daniel G. Anderson

Koch Institute at MIT, MIT Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Medical Engineering and Science

The immune system does a very good job at identifying what is foreign to our body and does its best to protect us from any intruder. When a biomaterial is implanted, the immune system jumps into action and deposits a layer of cells and protein matrix on the material through a process known as fibrosis. The images capture this process of fibrosis in action. At least two major players of fibrosis – macrophages (rounded) and fibroblasts (stretched, fiber like) can be seen in these pictures.

These images were a taken as a part of an assay where we characterize the biocompatibility of a material by imaging the fibrotic layer. I am studying the effects of various surface treatment on the biocompatibility of a material.

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