A dynamically phase-adaptive regulating hydrogel promotes ultrafast anti-fibrotic wound healing

Achieving rapid and scar-free wound repair is a key goal in the field of regenerative medicine. Herein, a dynamically Schiff base-crosslinked hydrogel (F/R gel) with phase-adaptive regulating functions is constructed to integratedly promote rapid re-epithelization with suppressed scars on chronic infected wounds. Specifically, the gel effectively eliminates multidrug-resistant bacterial biofilm at infection stage via antimicrobial activity of ε-polylysine firstly dissociated from hydrogel matrix in infectious microenvironment, and interrupts the severe oxidative stress-inflammation cycle at wound site by the released ceria nanozyme, thus stimulating a pro-regenerative environment to ensure tissue repair. Subsequently, fibroblast growth factor/c-Jun siRNA co-loaded microcapsules gradually disintegrate to release drugs, facilitating neoangiogenesis and cell proliferation but simultaneously blocking c-Jun overexpression for fibrotic scar suppression. Notably, the F/R gel facilitates normal-like skin regeneration with no perceptible scars formed on infected male mouse wound and female rabbit ear wound models. Our work offers a promising regenerative strategy emphasizing immunomodulatory and fibroblast subtype modulation for scarless wound repair.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-04-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58987-w
Citations
80
Primary Topic
Wound Healing and Treatments
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
82.08

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article

A dynamically phase-adaptive regulating hydrogel promotes ultrafast anti-fibrotic wound healing

Zimiao Chen, Zhuo Li, Zhenglin Li, Mingying Gao et al.
80 citations
Nature Communications
Wound Healing and Treatments
82.08
article

A dynamically phase-adaptive regulating hydrogel promotes ultrafast anti-fibrotic wound healing

Zimiao Chen, Zhuo Li, Zhenglin Li, Mingying Gao, Qianqian Hu, Keqing Shi, Jian Wang, Fan Zhang, Xinyuan Chen, Jian Xiao, Kui Du, Shengfu Wang, Lu Yang, Haijuan Zhang, Anyu Du, Shenghu Du
article en
80 citations

Abstract

Achieving rapid and scar-free wound repair is a key goal in the field of regenerative medicine. Herein, a dynamically Schiff base-crosslinked hydrogel (F/R gel) with phase-adaptive regulating functions is constructed to integratedly promote rapid re-epithelization with suppressed scars on chronic infected wounds. Specifically, the gel effectively eliminates multidrug-resistant bacterial biofilm at infection stage via antimicrobial activity of ε-polylysine firstly dissociated from hydrogel matrix in infectious microenvironment, and interrupts the severe oxidative stress-inflammation cycle at wound site by the released ceria nanozyme, thus stimulating a pro-regenerative environment to ensure tissue repair. Subsequently, fibroblast growth factor/c-Jun siRNA co-loaded microcapsules gradually disintegrate to release drugs, facilitating neoangiogenesis and cell proliferation but simultaneously blocking c-Jun overexpression for fibrotic scar suppression. Notably, the F/R gel facilitates normal-like skin regeneration with no perceptible scars formed on infected male mouse wound and female rabbit ear wound models. Our work offers a promising regenerative strategy emphasizing immunomodulatory and fibroblast subtype modulation for scarless wound repair.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Wenzhou University (CN), Wenzhou Medical University (CN), First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (CN), Zhejiang Lab (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Heilongjiang University (CN)
Wenzhou Medical University, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Wound Healing and Treatments
82.08
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