Hydrogel crosslinking modulates macrophages, fibroblasts, and their communication, during wound healing

Butenko, Sergei; Nagalla, Raji R.; Guerrero‐Juarez, Christian F.; Palomba, Francesco; David, Li-Mor; Nguyen, R.Q.; Gay, Denise; Almet, Axel A.; Digman, Michelle A.; Nie, Qing; Scumpia, Philip O.; Plikus, Maksim V.; Liu, Wendy F.

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50072-y

articleNature CommunicationsAug 9, 2024GOLD OA

Hydrogel crosslinking modulates macrophages, fibroblasts, and their communication, during wound healing

SBSergei Butenko RRRaji R. Nagalla CFChristian F. Guerrero‐Juarez FPFrancesco Palomba LDLi-Mor David

University of California, Irvine · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · +6 more institutions

PubMed

Indexed incrossrefdoajpubmed

Abstract

Biomaterial wound dressings, such as hydrogels, interact with host cells to regulate tissue repair. This study investigates how crosslinking of gelatin-based hydrogels influences immune and stromal cell behavior and wound healing in female mice. We observe that softer, lightly crosslinked hydrogels promote greater cellular infiltration and result in smaller scars compared to stiffer, heavily crosslinked hydrogels. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we further show that heavily crosslinked hydrogels increase inflammation and lead to the formation of a distinct macrophage subpopulation exhibiting signs of oxidative activity and cell fusion. Conversely, lightly crosslinked hydrogels are more readily taken up by…

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155

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FWCI: 35.04
Percentile: 100%
References: 74

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Topics & keywords

Topics

Keywords

Wound healing
Cell biology
Fibroblast
Chemistry
Medicine
Biology
Immunology
Biochemistry

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