The delayed healing of diabetic wounds (DBW) will not only afflict patients, but also lead to amputation and even death in serious cases, which will create many negative effects on society and the country. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have attracted extensive attention for their applications in chronic wound healing due to their excellent cytokine secretion ability and regulation of inflammation. Mesenchymal stromal cells can be used alone or wrapped with carrier/matrix and applied to enhance healing in the wound area. In this review, the etiology of the slow healing of DBW and the mechanism by which MSCs promote the healing of DBW were explored. In addition, we summarised the current research progress on the use of stromal cell-loaded biomaterials for wound healing in diabetic animal models. At the end of the article, we pointed out the challenges and improvement strategies for stromal cell therapy applied to DBW in future clinical practice.
K E Y W O R D Sbiomaterials, diabetic foot ulcers, mesenchymal stromal cells, wound healing
| INTRODUCTIONDiabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases caused by a complex interplay of genetic, immune, and environmental factors. These diseases are characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia, which is caused by impaired insulin secretion or impaired insulin action, or both. 1 The long-term presence of hyperglycaemia can lead to chronic damage and dysfunction of various tissues. Diabetes can be divided into four types, namely type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, other specific diabetes types, and gestational diabetes. 1 Type 1 diabetes is caused by the autoimmune system destroying the insulin-producing beta cells 1-4 ; type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance in tissue cells, which allows less glucose to enter the cells and participate in the production of calories, while it allows more glucose to remain in the blood. 1,5 Gestational diabetes, on the other hand, is similar to type 2 diabetes in that it also stems from cellular insulin resistance, although its insulin resistance is due to hormones secreted by women during pregnancy. 1,6 Other specific diabetes is diabetes induced by specific etiologies, such as mumps, chronic pancreatitis, etc. or long-term steroid use. 1,6 In addition to hyperglycaemia, the clinical manifestations of diabetic patients are the typical "three more and one less", that is, drinking more, urinating more, eating more, and weight loss.