Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
Toronto General Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2022 Aug 20;12(1):14233. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-18204-w.
Poor quality (eg. excessive scarring) or delayed closure of skin wounds can have profound physical and pyschosocial effects on patients as well as pose an enormous economic burden on the healthcare system. An effective means of improving both the rate and quality of wound healing is needed for all patients suffering from skin injury. Despite wound care being a multi-billion-dollar industry, effective treatments aimed at rapidly restoring the skin barrier function or mitigating the severity of fibrotic scar remain elusive. Previously, a hydrogel conjugated angiopoietin-1 derived peptide (QHREDGS; Q-peptide) was shown to increase keratinocyte migration and improve wound healing in diabetic mice. Here, we evaluated the effect of this Q-Peptide Hydrogel on human skin wound healing using a mouse xenograft model. First, we confirmed that the Q-Peptide Hydrogel promoted the migration of adult human keratinocytes and modulated their cytokine profile in vitro. Next, utilizing our human to mouse split-thickness skin xenograft model, we found improved healing of wounded human epidermis following Q-Peptide Hydrogel treatment. Importantly, Q-Peptide Hydrogel treatment enhanced this wound re-epithelialization via increased keratinocyte migration and survival, rather than a sustained increase in proliferation. Overall, these data provide strong evidence that topical application of QHREDGS peptide-modified hydrogels results in accelerated wound closure that may lead to improved outcomes for patients.
皮肤伤口质量差（例如过度瘢痕形成）或延迟闭合会对患者的身体和心理产生深远影响，同时也会给医疗保健系统带来巨大的经济负担。所有遭受皮肤损伤的患者都需要一种有效的方法来提高伤口愈合的速度和质量。尽管伤口护理是一个价值数十亿美元的行业，但仍难以找到针对迅速恢复皮肤屏障功能或减轻纤维化瘢痕严重程度的有效治疗方法。此前，已证明水凝胶结合的血管生成素-1 衍生肽（QHREDGS；Q-肽）可增加角质形成细胞的迁移并改善糖尿病小鼠的伤口愈合。在这里，我们使用小鼠异种移植模型评估了这种 Q-肽水凝胶对人类皮肤伤口愈合的影响。首先，我们证实 Q-肽水凝胶可促进成人角质形成细胞的迁移，并在体外调节其细胞因子谱。接下来，利用我们的人到鼠的全层皮肤异种移植模型，我们发现 Q-肽水凝胶治疗可改善受伤的人表皮的愈合。重要的是，Q-肽水凝胶治疗通过增加角质形成细胞的迁移和存活，而不是持续增加增殖，从而增强了这种伤口再上皮化。总的来说，这些数据提供了强有力的证据，表明 QHREDGS 肽修饰水凝胶的局部应用可加速伤口闭合，从而可能改善患者的预后。
