Tissue engineering strategies have shown promise in promoting healing and regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI); however, these strategies are limited by inflammation and the immune response. Infiltration of cells of the innate and adaptive immune responses and the inflammation that follows cause secondary damage adjacent to the injury, increased scarring, and a potently inhibitory environment for the regeneration of damaged neurons. While the inflammation that ensues is typically associated with limited regeneration, the immune response is a crucial element in the closing of the blood-brain barrier, minimizing the spread of injury, and initiating healing. This review summarizes the strategies that have been developed to modulate the immune response towards an anti-inflammatory environment that is permissive to the regeneration of neurons, glia, and parenchyma. We focus on the use of biomaterials, biologically active molecules, gene therapy, nanoparticles, and stem cells to modulate the immune response, and illustrate concepts for future therapies. Current clinical treatments for SCI are limited to systemic hypothermia or methylprednisolone, which both act by systemically mitigating the effects of immune response but have marginal efficacy. Herein, we discuss emerging research strategies to further enhance these clinical treatments by directly targeting specific aspects of the immune response.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 17 June 2025.
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#9,480,752
of 31,482,640 outputs
Outputs from Cells Tissues Organs
#175
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Outputs of similar age
#105,923
of 324,280 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Cells Tissues Organs
#4
of 24 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 31,482,640 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 68th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 762 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 4.2. This one has done well, scoring higher than 75% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 324,280 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 24 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its contemporaries.
