Issue 15, 2023

HIF-stabilizing biomaterials: from hypoxia-mimicking to hypoxia-inducing

Abstract

Recent advances in our understanding of hypoxia and hypoxia-mediated mechanisms shed light on the critical implications of the hypoxic stress on cellular behavior. However, tools emulating hypoxic conditions (i.e., low oxygen tensions) for research are limited and often suffer from major shortcomings, such as lack of reliability and off-target effects, and they usually fail to recapitulate the complexity of the tissue microenvironment. Fortunately, the field of biomaterials is constantly evolving and has a central role to play in the development of new technologies for conducting hypoxia-related research in several aspects of biomedical research, including tissue engineering, cancer modeling, and modern drug screening. In this perspective, we provide an overview of several strategies that have been investigated in the design and implementation of biomaterials for simulating or inducing hypoxic conditions—a prerequisite in the stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), a master regulator of the cellular responses to low oxygen. To this end, we discuss various advanced biomaterials, from those that integrate hypoxia-mimetic agents to artificially induce hypoxia-like responses, to those that deplete oxygen and consequently create either transient (<1 day) or sustained (>1 day) hypoxic conditions. We also aim to highlight the advantages and limitations of these emerging biomaterials for biomedical applications, with an emphasis on cancer research.

Graphical abstract: HIF-stabilizing biomaterials: from hypoxia-mimicking to hypoxia-inducing

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
27 Febr. 2023
Accepted
05 Maijs 2023
First published
22 Maijs 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Mater. Adv., 2023,4, 3084-3090

HIF-stabilizing biomaterials: from hypoxia-mimicking to hypoxia-inducing

T. Colombani, K. Bhatt, B. Epel, M. Kotecha and S. A. Bencherif, Mater. Adv., 2023, 4, 3084 DOI: 10.1039/D3MA00090G

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