Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine hold promise for improving or even restoring the function of damaged organs. Graphene-based materials (GBMs) have become a key player in biomaterials applied to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. A series of cellular and molecular events, which affect the outcome of tissue regeneration, occur after GBMs are implanted into the body. The immunomodulatory function of GBMs is considered to be a key factor influencing tissue regeneration. This review introduces the applications of GBMs in bone, neural, skin, and cardiovascular tissue engineering, emphasizing that the immunomodulatory functions of GBMs significantly improve tissue regeneration. This review focuses on summarizing and discussing the mechanisms by which GBMs mediate the sequential regulation of the innate immune cell inflammatory response. During the process of tissue healing, multiple immune responses, such as the inflammatory response, foreign body reaction, tissue fibrosis, and biodegradation of GBMs, are interrelated and influential. We discuss the regulation of these immune responses by GBMs, as well as the immune cells and related immunomodulatory mechanisms involved. Finally, we summarize the limitations in the immunomodulatory strategies of GBMs and ideas for optimizing GBM applications in tissue engineering. This review demonstrates the significance and related mechanism of the immunomodulatory function of GBM application in tissue engineering; more importantly, it contributes insights into the design of GBMs to enhance wound healing and tissue regeneration in tissue engineering.
Keywords: biodegradation; foreign body reaction; graphene-based materials; immune cells; immunomodulatory function; inflammatory response; tissue engineering and regeneration; tissue fibrosis.