The potential of hydrogels as a niche for promoting neurogenesis and regulating neuroinflammation in ischemic stroke

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and a severe social and economic burden. After ischemic stroke, the central nervous system (CNS) microenvironment at the site of injury is often inflammatory and inhibitory, which limits endogenous neurogenesis and regeneration. Current treatments fail to promote recovery in disabled survivors because of the poor regenerative capacity of the CNS, and thus there is an urgent need to develop biomaterials that create a microenvironment that is conducive to neurogenesis. Injectable hydrogels that mimic native properties hold great potential for tissue repair. Hydrogels alone or in combination with other therapeutics can remodel the hostile stroke microenvironment by modulating neuroinflammation to promote exogenous and endogenous regenerative repair processes. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiology and current treatment approaches for brain repair and functional recovery in ischemic stroke, and then provide an overview of the potential of hydrogels in stroke treatment. We also offer our perspective on the clinical translation of hydrogels, with the aim of advancing the ischemic stroke field.