Seminars

Abstract:
Macrophages guide immune responses by polarization or altering their phenotype to perform pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory functions. Their role in inflammation makes them an ideal cellular theranostic, a cell that can be leveraged as a therapeutic delivery vehicle and as a diagnostic disease indicator. Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of macrophage polarization shape can impact the design of therapeutic nanoparticles, biomaterials, and even synthetic biological constructs. However, current methods to measure macrophage polarization involve genomic and proteomic measurements that while sensitive require fixation, tissue homogenization, thereby losing the real-time dynamics. This talk will discuss new strategies for measuring macrophage polarization and how macrophage polarization can be harnessed for gene delivery.

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