1. Academic Validation
  2. Cell membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles activate fibroblast-myofibroblast transition to promote skin wound healing

Cell membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles activate fibroblast-myofibroblast transition to promote skin wound healing

  • Biofabrication. 2024 Dec 23;17(1). doi: 10.1088/1758-5090/ad9cc4.
Qi Jia 1 Yijuan Ding 1 Ziwen Su 1 Heying Chen 1 Jialing Ye 1 Dafeng Xie 1 Yubo Wu 1 Haiyan He 1 Yanlin Peng 1 Yilu Ni 1
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 The M.O.E. Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medical Diagnostics, The College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, #1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400016, People's Republic of China.
Abstract

The fibroblast-myofibroblast transition marked by extracellular matrix (ECM) secretion and contraction of actomyosin-based stress fibers, plays central roles in the wound healing process. This work aims to utilize the cell membrane-based nanoplatform to improve the outcomes of dysregulated wound healing. The cell membranes of myofibroblasts isolated from mouse skin are used as the camouflage for gold nanoparticles loaded with IL-4 cytokine. The membrane-modified nanoparticles show effective in situ clearance of Bacterial infection, and act as the activator in IL-4Rα signaling pathway to induce pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages into the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Thus, the poor bacteria-clearance and non-stop inflammation in refractory wounds are improved and accelerated. Furthermore, the nanoplatform releases myofibroblast membranes to propel primitive fibroblasts toward the fibroblast-myofibroblast transition in an epigenetic manner. Matrix-production, vascularization, and epithelial regeneration are then initiated, leading to the satisfactory wound closure. Our study devises a new strategy for activating fibroblasts into myofibroblasts under prolonged and continuous exposure to the fibrotic environment, and develops a promising biomimetic nanoplatform for effective treatment of dysregulated chronic wound healing.

Keywords

cell membrane; epigenetic modification; fibroblast-myofibroblast transition; proliferation phase; wound healing.

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