The treatment of diabetic wounds remains a major challenge in clinical practice, with chronic wounds characterized by multiple drug‐resistant bacterial infections, angiopathy, and oxidative damage to the microenvironment. Herein, a novel in situ injectable HA@MnO2/FGF‐2/Exos hydrogel is introduced for improving diabetic wound healing. Through a simple local injection, this hydrogel is able to form a protective barrier covering the wound, providing rapid hemostasis and long‐term antibacterial protection. The MnO2/ε‐PL nanosheet is able to catalyze the excess H2O2 produced in the wound, converting it to O2, thus not only eliminating the harmful effects of H2O2 but also providing O2 for wound healing. Moreover, the release of M2‐derived Exosomes (M2 Exos) and FGF‐2 growth factor stimulates angiogenesis and epithelization, respectively. These in vivo and in vitro results demonstrate accelerated healing of diabetic wounds with the use of the HA@MnO2/FGF‐2/Exos hydrogel, presenting a viable strategy for chronic diabetic wound repair.
The osteoblast/osteoclast and M1/M2 macrophage ratios play critical roles in delayed fracture healing. Robust osteoblast differentiation and M2 macrophage polarization can substantiality promote fracture repair; however, the combined effect of these strategies has not been previously studied. In this study, we constructed a cocktail therapy to simultaneously regulate the osteoblast/osteoclast and M1/M2 macrophage balance. The cocktail therapy composed of a natural polymer hyaluronic-acid-based hydrogel (HA hydrogel, which has a tissue-adhesive, injectable, self-healing, anti-inflammation profile), engineered endothelial cell-derived exosomes (EC-ExosmiR-26a-5p), and APY29, an IRE-1α inhibitor. This allowed for specific delivery of EC-ExosmiR-26a-5p and APY29 for osteoblast/osteoclast and macrophage regulation, respectively. The results suggested that the cocktail therapy exerted pro-fracture repair effects with each of its components established as indispensable. The assessed cocktail therapy provides insight into synergistic strategies and is useful for developing more suitable pro-fracture repair therapy.
Fracture nonunion remains a great challenge for orthopedic surgeons. Fracture repair comprises of three phases, the inflammatory, repair and remodeling stage. Extensive advancements have been made in the field of bone repair, including development of strategies to balance the M1/M2 macrophage populations, and to improve osteogenesis and angiogenesis. However, such developments focused on only one or the latter two phases, while ignoring the inflammatory phase during which cell recruitment occurs. In this study, we combined Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1α (SDF-1α) and M2 macrophage derived exosomes (M2D-Exos) with a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel precursor solution to synthesize an injectable, self-healing, adhesive HA@SDF-1α/M2D-Exos hydrogel. The HA hydrogel demonstrated good biocompatibility and hemostatic ability, with the 4% HA hydrogels displaying great antibacterial activity against gram-negative E. coli and gram-positive S. aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Synchronously and sustainably released SDF-1α and M2D-Exos from the HA@SDF-1α/M2D-Exos hydrogel enhanced proliferation and migration of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (HMSCs) and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs), promoting osteogenesis and angiogenesis both in vivo and in vitro. Overall, the developed HA@ SDF-1α/M2D-Exos hydrogel was compatible with the natural healing process of fractures and provides a new modality for accelerating bone repair by coupling osteogenesis, angiogenesis, and resisting infection at all stages.