# Impact of the Anti-PEG Response on the Efficacy of PEG Hydrogel-Mediated Bone Regeneration

> **NIH NIH R21** · TEXAS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION · 2020 · $195,153

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based hydrogels are promising and versatile materials for the delivery of protein
and cellular therapeutics for bone tissue engineering. However, concerns over PEG’s immunogenicity have
emerged in recent years, and it has been estimated that as much as 25% of the population has antibodies
against PEG due to exposure via pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other PEG-containing products. While the
anti-PEG response has been found to reduce the efficacy of intravenously administered PEGylated drugs, its
impact on the efficacy of regenerative therapeutics delivered from PEG hydrogels has not previously been
studied and is unknown. The objective of this project is to address this knowledge gap through in vivo
experimentation comparing animals conditioned to mount an anti-PEG response to immunologically naïve
controls. Aim 1 consists of a subcutaneous implantation study in mice, which will elucidate the effects of the
anti-PEG immune reaction on the fundamental biological response to PEG hydrogels. Aim 2 involves a bone
tissue engineering study in which the impact of the anti-PEG response on hydrogel-mediated delivery of bone
morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) will be tested in a murine calvarial defect model. Quantitative measurements
of bone healing compared to control animals will be used to determine whether bone healing is negatively
affected. The results of this exploratory project will either alleviate concerns over PEG immunogenicity for
tissue engineering or motivate future investigations on strategies to mitigate its effects.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9890921
- **Project number:** 5R21AR074635-02
- **Recipient organization:** TEXAS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel Alge
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $195,153
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-10 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9890921

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9890921, Impact of the Anti-PEG Response on the Efficacy of PEG Hydrogel-Mediated Bone Regeneration (5R21AR074635-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9890921. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*