A bioengineered drug-Eluting scaffold accelerated cutaneous wound healing In diabetic mice

Hyperglycemia in diabetic patients can greatly hinder the wound healing process. In this study we investigated if the engagement of F4/80(+) murine macrophages could accelerate the cutaneous wound healing in streptozotocin induced diabetic mice. To facilitate the engagement of macrophages, we engineered a drug-eluting electrospun scaffold with a payload of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). MCP-1 could be readily released from the scaffold within 3 days. The electrospun scaffold showed no cytotoxic effects on human keratinocytes in vitro. Full-thickness excisional cutaneous wound was created in diabetic mice. The wound fully recovered within 10 days in mice treated with the drug-eluting scaffold. In contrast, the wound took 14 days to fully recover in control groups. The use of drug-eluting scaffold also improved the re-epithelialization. Furthermore, we observed a larger population of F4/80(+) macrophages in the wound bed of mice treated with drug-eluting scaffolds on day 3. This marked increase of macrophages in the wound bed could have contributed to the accelerated wound healing. Our study shed new light on an immuno-engineering solution for wound healing management in diabetic patients.