A Novel Synthetic Material, BMM, Accelerates Wound Repair by Stimulating Re-Epithelialization and Fibroblast Activation

Turning Polysaccharides into Injectable and Rapid Self-Healing Antibacterial Hydrogels for Antibacterial Treatment and Bacterial-Infected Wound Healing

Great efforts have been devoted to the development of novel and multifunctional wound dressing materials to meet the different needs of wound healing. Herein, we covalently grafted quaternary ammonium groups (QAGs) containing 12-carbon straight-chain alkanes to the dextran polymer skeleton. We then oxidized the resulting product into oxidized quaternized dextran (OQD). The obtained OQD polymer is rich in antibacterial QAGs and aldehyde groups. It can react with glycol chitosan (GC) via the Schiff-base reaction to form a multifunctional GC@OQD hydrogel with good self-healing behavior, hemostasis, injectability, inherent superior antibacterial activity, biocompatibility, and excellent promotion of healing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected wounds. The biosafe and nontoxic GC@OQD hydrogel with a three-dimensional porous network structure possesses an excellent swelling rate and water retention capacity. It can be used for hemostasis and treating irregular wounds. The designed GC@OQD hydrogel with inherent antibacterial activity possesses good antibacterial efficacy on both S. aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria), as well as MRSA bacteria, with antibacterial activity greater than 99%. It can be used for the treatment of wounds infected by MRSA and significantly promotes the healing of wounds. Thus, the multifunctional antibacterial GC@OQD hydrogel has the potential to be applied in clinical practice as a wound dressing.

N,N-Dimethylglycine Sodium Salt Exerts Marked Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Various Dermatitis Models and Activates Human Epidermal Keratinocytes by Increasing Proliferation, Migration, and Growth Factor Release

N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) is a naturally occurring compound being widely used as an oral supplement to improve growth and physical performance. Thus far, its effects on human skin have not been described in the literature. For the first time, we show that N,N-dimethylglycine sodium salt (DMG-Na) promoted the proliferation of cultured human epidermal HaCaT keratinocytes. Even at high doses, DMG-Na did not compromise the cellular viability of these cells. In a scratch wound-closure assay, DMG-Na augmented the rate of wound closure, demonstrating that it promotes keratinocyte migration. Further, DMG-Na treatment of the cells resulted in the upregulation of the synthesis and release of specific growth factors. Intriguingly, DMG-Na also exerted robust anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, as assessed in three different models of human keratinocytes, mimicking microbial and allergic contact dermatitis as well as psoriasis and UVB irradiation-induced solar dermatitis. These results identify DMG-Na as a highly promising novel active compound to promote epidermal proliferation, regeneration, and repair, and to exert protective functions. Further preclinical and clinical studies are under investigation to prove the seminal impact of topically applied DMG-Na on relevant conditions of the skin and its appendages.

Comprehensive Review on Development of Early Diagnostics on Oral Cancer with a Special Focus on Biomarkers

One of the most frequent head and neck cancers is oral cancer, with less than half of those diagnosed surviving five years. Despite breakthroughs in the treatment of many other cancers, the prognosis for people with OSCC remains dismal. The conventional methods of detection include a thorough clinical examination, biochemical investigations, and invasive biopsies. Early identification and treatment are important for a better chance of extending a patient’s life. Early diagnosis may be possible by identifying biomarkers in biological fluids. Currently, the primary method for diagnosing oral lesions is a visual oral examination; however, such a technique has certain drawbacks, as individuals are recognized after their cancer has advanced to a severe degree. The first section of this review discusses several diagnostic techniques for cancer detection, while the second section discusses the present state of knowledge about known existing predictive markers for the timely identification of malignant lesions, as well as disease activity tracking. The aim of the paper is to conduct a critical review of existing oral cancer diagnostic processes and to consider the possible application of innovative technology for early detection. This might broaden our diagnostic choices and enhance our capacity to identify and treat oral malignant tumors more effectively.

Acceleration of Healing in Full-Thickness Wound by Chitosan-Binding bFGF and Antimicrobial Peptide Modification Chitosan Membrane

Skin wound healing is an important clinical challenge, and the main treatment points are accelerating epidermal regeneration and preventing infection. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a wound dressing that can simultaneously cure bacterial infections and accelerate wound healing. Here, we report a multifunctional composite wound dressing loaded with chitosan (CS)-binding bFGF (CSBD-bFGF) and antimicrobial peptides (P5S9K). First, CS was used as the dressing matrix material, and P5S9K was encapsulated in CS. Then, CSBD-bFGF was designed by combining recombinant DNA technology and tyrosinase treatment and modified on the dressing material surface. The results show that the binding ability of CSBD-bFGF and CS was significantly improved compared with that of commercial bFGF, and CSBD-bFGF could be controllably released from the CS dressing. More importantly, the prepared dressing material showed excellent antibacterial activity in vivo and in vitro and could effectively inhibit the growth of E. coli and S. aureus. Using NIH3T3 cells as cellular models, the results showed that the CSBD-bFGF@CS/P5S9K composite dressing was a friendly material for cell growth. After cells were seeded on the composite dressing surface, collagen-1 (COL-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) genes expression in cells were significantly upregulated. Finally, the full-thickness wound of the rat dorsal model was applied to analyse the tissue repair ability of the composite dressing. The results showed that the composite dressing containing CSBD-bFGF and P5S9K had the strongest ability to repair skin wounds. Therefore, the CSBD-bFGF@CS/P5S9K composite dressing has good antibacterial and accelerated wound healing abilities and has good application prospects in the treatment of skin wounds.

The effects of electrical stimulation on diabetic ulcers of foot and lower limb: A systematic review

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a life-threatening condition affecting a third of diabetic patients. Many adjuvant therapies aimed at improving the healing rate (HR) and accelerating healing time are currently under investigation. Electrical stimulation (ES) is a physical-based therapy able to increase cells activity and migration into wound bed as well as inhibiting bacterial activity. The aim of this paper was to collect and analyse findings on the effects of ES used in combination with standard wound care (SWC) in the treatment of diabetic foot ulceration compared with SWC alone. A systematic review was performed to synthesise data from quantitative studies from eight databases. Article quality was assessed using the Crowe critical appraisal tool. Seven articles out of 560 publications met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis was not performed due to the heterogeneity of the studies and the results were narratively synthetised. Findings showed that HR appears to be higher among diabetic ulcers treated with ES; however, the reliability of these findings is affected by the small sample sizes of the studies. Furthermore, four studies are considered as moderate or high risk of bias. The evidence to suggest the systematic usage of ES in the treatment of DFUs is still insufficient.

Engineering stromal heterogeneity in cancer

Based on our exponentially increasing knowledge of stromal heterogeneity from advances in single-cell technologies, the notion that stromal cell types exist as a spectrum of unique subpopulations that have specific functions and spatial distributions in the tumor microenvironment has significant impact on tumor modeling for drug development and personalized drug testing. In this Review, we discuss the importance of incorporating stromal heterogeneity and tumor architecture, and propose an overall approach to guide the reconstruction of stromal heterogeneity in vitro for tumor modeling. These next-generation tumor models may support the development of more precise drugs targeting specific stromal cell subpopulations, as well as enable improved recapitulation of patient tumors in vitro for personalized drug testing.

Single Crystal X-Ray Structure for the Disordered Two Independent Molecules of Novel Isoflavone: Synthesis, Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, Inhibition and Docking Studies on IKKβ of 3-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-6-yl)-6,7-dimethoxy-4H-chromen-4-one

The structure of the isoflavone compound, 3-(2,3-dihydrobenzo[b][1,4]dioxin-6-yl)-6,7-dimethoxy-4H-chromen-4-one (5), was elucidated by 2D-NMR spectra, mass spectrum and single crystal X-ray crystallography. Compound 5, C19H16O6, was crystallized in the monoclinic space group P21/c with the cell parameters; a = 12.0654(5) Å, b =11.0666(5) Å, c = 23.9550(11) Å, β = 101.3757(16)°, V = 3135.7(2) Å3, and Z = 8. The asymmetric unit of compound 5 consists of two independent molecules 5I and 5II. Both molecules exhibit the disorder of each methylene group present in their 1,4-dioxane rings with relative occupancies of 0.599(10) (5I) and 0.812(9) (5II) for the major component A, and 0.401(10) (5I) and 0.188(9) (5II) for the minor component B, respectively. Each independent molecule revealed remarkable discrepancies in bond lengths, bond angles and dihedral angles in the disordered regions of 1,4-dioxane rings. The common feature of the molecules 5I and 5II are a chromone ring and a benzodioxin ring, which are more tilted towards each other in 5I than in 5II. An additional difference between the molecules is seen in the relative disposition of two methoxy substituents. In the crystal, the molecule 5II forms inversion dimers which are linked into chains along an a-axis direction by intermolecular C–H⋯O interactions. Additional C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds connected the molecules 5I and 5II each other to form a three-dimensional network. Hirshfeld surface analysis evaluated the relative intermolecular interactions which contribute to each crystal structure 5I and 5II. Western blot analysis demonstrated that compound 5 inhibited the TNFα-induced phosphorylation of IKKα/β, resulting in attenuating further downstream NF-κB signaling. A molecular docking study predicted the possible binding of compound 5 to the active site of IKKβ. Compound 5 showed an inhibitory effect on the clonogenicity of HCT116 human colon cancer cells. These results suggest that compound 5 can be used as a platform for the development of an anti-cancer agent targeting IKKα/β.

The HIPPO Transducer YAP and Its Targets CTGF and Cyr61 Drive a Paracrine Signalling in Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Mediated Wound Healing

Reactive species play a pivotal role in orchestrating wound healing responses. They act as secondary messengers and drive redox-signalling pathways that are involved in the homeostatic, inflammatory, proliferative, and remodelling phases of wound healing. The application of Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) to the wound site produces a profusion of short- and long-lived reactive species that have been demonstrated to be effective in promoting wound healing; however, knowledge of the mechanisms underlying CAP-mediated wound healing remains scarce. To address this, an in vitro coculture model was used to study the effects of CAP on wound healing and on paracrine crosstalk between dermal keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Using this coculture model, we observed a stimulatory effect on the migration ability of HaCaT cells that were cocultured with dermal fibroblasts. Additionally, CAP treatment resulted in an upregulation of the HIPPO transcription factor YAP in HaCaTs and fibroblasts. Downstream effectors of the HIPPO signalling pathway (CTGF and Cyr61) were also upregulated in dermal fibroblasts, and the administration of antioxidants could inhibit CAP-mediated wound healing and abrogate the gene expression of the HIPPO downstream effectors. Interestingly, we observed that HaCaT cells exhibited an improved cell migration rate when incubated with CAP-treated fibroblast-conditioned media compared to that observed after incubation with untreated media. An induction of CTGF and Cyr61 secretion was also observed upon CAP treatment in the fibroblast-conditioned media. Finally, exposure to recombinant CTGF and Cyr61 could also significantly improve HaCaT cell migration. In summary, our results validated that CAP activates a regenerative signalling pathway at the onset of wound healing. Additionally, CAP also stimulated a reciprocal communication between dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes, resulting in improved keratinocyte wound healing in coculture.

Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid)/graphene oxide composites combined with electrical stimulation in wound healing: preparation and characterization

PURPOSE

In this study, we fabricated multifunctional, electrically conductive composites by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) into a poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) copolymer for wound repair. Furthermore, the resultant composites were coupled with electrical stimulation to further improve the therapeutic effect of wound repair.

METHODS

We evaluated the surface morphology of the composites, as well as their physical properties, cytotoxicity, and antibacterial activity, along with the combined effects of composites and electrical stimulation (ES) in a rat model of wound healing.

RESULTS

Application of the PLGA/GO composites to full-thickness wounds confirmed their advantageous biological properties, as evident from the observed improvements in wound-specific mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and antibacterial activity. Additionally, we found that the combination of composites and ES improved composite-mediated cell survival and accelerated wound healing in vivo by promoting neovascularization and the formation of type I collagen.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrated that combined treatment with the PLGA/GO composite and ES promoted vascularization and epidermal remodeling and accelerated wound healing in rats, thereby suggesting the efficacy of PLGA/GO+ES for broad applications associated with wound repair.

Molecular Biomarkers Related to Oral Carcinoma: Clinical Trial Outcome Evaluation in a Literature Review

Backgrounds

The objective of the present research was to systematically revise the international literature about the genetic biomarkers related to oral cancer (OC) evaluating the recent findings in clinical studies.

Methods

A comprehensive review of the current literature was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines by accessing the NCBI PubMed database. The authors conducted the search of articles in the English language published from 2008 to 2018. The present systematic review included only papers with significant results about correlation between wound healing, genetic alteration, and OC. Prognostic capacity of genetic markers was not evaluated in vivo.

Results

The first analysis with filters recorded about 1884 published papers. Beyond reading and consideration of suitability, only 20 and then 8 papers, with case report exclusion, were recorded for the revision.

Conclusion

All the researches recorded the proteomic and genetic alterations in OC human biopsy cells. The gene modification level in the different studies, compared with samples of healthy tissues, has always been statistically significant, but it is not possible to associate publications with each other because each job is based on the measurement of different biomarkers and gene targets. Further investigations should be required in order to state scientific evidence about a clear advantage of using these biomarkers for diagnostic purpose.