Liu Ye, Zheng Ruoqi, Ren Huajian, Huang Jinjian, Li Sicheng
School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China; Research Institute of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210002, China.
Department of Clinical Nutrition, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Feb;289:138676. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138676. Epub 2024 Dec 11.
Postoperative abdominal adhesions are a common complication of surgery and are caused by inflammation, tissue damage, and hypoxia. To address this issue, we prepared a SC-Xg hydrogel membrane by crosslinking xanthan gum (Xg) and sodium citrate (SC) through a dehydration condensation reaction with a crosslinking density of 39.4 %. Moreover, the mechanical performance of the SC-Xg hydrogel membrane could be enhanced by adjusting the concentration of SC. The 1.2-SC-Xg hydrogel membrane exhibited the highest stress resistance. The SC-Xg hydrogel membrane retains the excellent self-fixing ability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability of Xg while incorporating the antioxidant properties of SC. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that the SC-Xg hydrogel membrane can completely cover irregular surgical sites and act as the most effective barrier against adhesions, fully exerting both physical and biological effects. Furthermore, molecular mechanism studies revealed that the hydrogel membrane primarily activated the Nrf2 signaling pathway in a concentration-dependent manner, enabling the SC-Xg hydrogel membrane to suppress postoperative oxidative stress reactions (ROS), reduce inflammation levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, reduce fibrosis, and effectively prevent the formation of abdominal adhesions. In conclusion, the SC-Xg hydrogel membrane represents a promising strategy for preventing postoperative abdominal adhesions.
术后腹腔粘连是手术常见的并发症，由炎症、组织损伤和缺氧引起。为解决这一问题，我们通过黄原胶（Xg）和柠檬酸钠（SC）经脱水缩合反应交联制备了SC-Xg水凝胶膜，交联密度为39.4%。此外，通过调节SC的浓度可增强SC-Xg水凝胶膜的力学性能。1.2-SC-Xg水凝胶膜表现出最高的抗应力能力。SC-Xg水凝胶膜保留了Xg优异的自固定能力、生物相容性和生物降解性，同时兼具SC的抗氧化性能。体外和体内实验证实，SC-Xg水凝胶膜可完全覆盖不规则手术部位，作为最有效的粘连屏障，充分发挥物理和生物学效应。此外，分子机制研究表明，水凝胶膜主要以浓度依赖的方式激活Nrf2信号通路，使SC-Xg水凝胶膜能够抑制术后氧化应激反应（ROS），降低IL-6和TNF-α的炎症水平，减轻纤维化，并有效防止腹腔粘连的形成。总之，SC-Xg水凝胶膜是预防术后腹腔粘连的一种有前景的策略。
