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Abstract Refractory diabetic wounds are associated with high incidence, mortality, and recurrence rates and are a devastating and rapidly growing clinical problem. However, treating these wounds is difficult owing to uncontrolled inflammatory microenvironments and defective angiogenesis in the affected areas, with no established effective treatment to the best of our knowledge. Herein, we optimized a dual functional therapeutic agent based on the assembly of LL‐37 peptides and diblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)–poly(propylene sulfide) (PEG–PPS). The incorporation of PEG–PPS enabled responsive or controlled LL‐37 peptide release in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS). LL‐37@PEG–PPS nanomicelles not only scavenged excessive ROS to improve the microenvironment for angiogenesis but also released LL‐37 peptides and protected them from degradation, thereby robustly increasing angiogenesis. Diabetic wounds treated with LL‐37@PEG–PPS exhibited accelerated and high‐quality wound healing in vivo. This study shows that LL‐37@PEG–PPS can restore beneficial angiogenesis in the wound microenvironment by continuously providing angiogenesis‐promoting signals. Thus, it may be a promising drug for improving chronic refractory wound healing.

Abstract Functional hydrogels show potential application in repairing spinal cord injury (SCI) due to their unique chemical, physical, and biological properties and functions. In this comprehensive review, we present recent advance in the material design, functional regulation, and SCI repair applications of bioactive hydrogels. Different from previously released reviews on hydrogels and three-dimensional scaffolds for the SCI repair, this work focuses on the strategies for material design and biologically functional regulation of hydrogels, specifically aiming to show how these significant efforts can promoting the repairing performance of SCI. We demonstrate various methods and techniques for the fabrication of bioactive hydrogels with the biological components such as DNA, proteins, peptides, biomass polysaccharides, and biopolymers to obtain unique biological properties of hydrogels, including the cell biocompatibility, self-healing, anti-bacterial activity, injectability, bio-adhesion, bio-degradation, and other multi-functions for repairing SCI. The functional regulation of bioactive hydrogels with drugs/growth factors, polymers, nanoparticles, one-dimensional materials, and two-dimensional materials for highly effective treating SCI are introduced and discussed in detail. This work shows new viewpoints and ideas on the design and synthesis of bioactive hydrogels with the state-of-the-art knowledges of materials science and nanotechnology, and will bridge the connection of materials science and biomedicine, and further inspire clinical potential of bioactive hydrogels in biomedical fields.

BackgroundBoswellic acids (BAs) showed promising effects in cancer treatment, immune response regulation, and anti-inflammatory therapy. We aimed to assess the roles of alpha-BA (α-BA) in treating acute wound healing.MethodsIn vivo wound-healing models were established to evaluate the therapeutic effects of α-BA. Cell assays were conducted to assess the impact of α-BA on cellular biological functions. Western blot analysis was employed to validate the potential mechanisms of action of α-BA.ResultsAnimal models indicated that wound healing was notably accelerated in the α-BA group compared to the control group (P < 0.01). Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay preliminarily suggested that α-BA may accelerate wound healing by inhibiting excessive inflammatory reactions and increasing the protein levels of growth factors. Cell function experiments demonstrated that α-BA suppressed the proliferation and migration ability of human hypertrophic scar fibroblasts (HSFBs), thereby favoring wound healing. Additionally, α-BA exerted a significant impact on cell cycle progression. Mechanistically, the protein levels of key genes in nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB) signaling pathway, including cyclin D1, p65, IκBα, and p-IκBα, were downregulated by α-BA.Conclusionsα-BA demonstrated the ability to counteract the abnormal proliferation of skin scar tissues, consequently expediting wound healing. These findings suggest its potential for development as a new agent for treating acute wound healing.