RESUMO
Proteins and peptides are potential therapeutic agents, but their physiochemical properties make their use as drug substances challenging. Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymeric networks that can swell and retain high amounts of water or biological fluids without being dissolved. Due to their biocompatibility, their porous structure, which enables the transport of various peptides and proteins, and their protective effect against degradation, hydrogels have gained prominence as ideal carriers for these molecules' delivery. Particularly, stimuli-responsive hydrogels exhibit physicochemical transitions in response to subtle modifications in the surrounding environment, leading to the controlled release of entrapped proteins or peptides. This review is focused on the application of these hydrogels in protein and peptide delivery, including a brief overview of therapeutic proteins and types of stimuli-responsive polymers.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigate the diversity and modulation of leukocyte populations represented in the gates defined by size and granularity at different time points of thioglycollate-induced peritonitis in mouse. RESULTS: The inflammatory cells were distributed into four regions (R1-R4) of a data plot graph defined by cell size and granularity. R1 and R2 contained agranular cells that were small in size and predominately included T (CD3+) lymphocytes along with B (B220+) lymphocytes. Macrophages (F4/80+) were the predominant cells found in the R3 region. However, these cells were present in all regions, albeit at a lower frequency in R1 and R2. Granulocytes (Gr1+) were mainly distributed in R3 and R4. The wide distribution of F4/80+ and Gr1+ cells may reflect the recruitment and activation state of the different macrophage and granulocyte populations. Based on these observations, size and granularity may contribute to an initial step in the analysis and sorting of thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal exudate cells. However, the developmental stage and cell activation state may interfere with cell segregation using size and granularity as parameters.
