Copper-gallate metal-organic framework encapsulated multifunctional konjac glucomannan microneedles patches for promoting wound healing.

An ideal chronic wound dressing needs to have some properties, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, regulating macrophage polarization and promoting angiogenesis. This work presents a microneedle patch fabricated from oxidized konjac glucomannan (OKGM-MNs), in which Copper-gallate metal-organic framework (CuGA-MOF) is encapsulated for wound healing (denoted as CuGA-MOF@OKGM-MNs). CuGA-MOF is composed of Cu2+ and gallic acid (GA), which are released through microneedles in the deep layer of the dermis. The released Cu2+ is able to act as an antibacterial agent and promote angiogenesis, while GA as a reactive oxygen species scavenger displays antioxidant activity. More attractively, the material OKGM used to prepare the microneedle patch is not only a drug carrier but also plays a role in promoting macrophage polarization M2 phenotype. In vitro experiments showed that CuGA-MOF@OKGM-MNs had good antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The therapeutic effect on wound healing has been confirmed in full-thickness skin wounds of diabetes mice models, which showed that the wound could be completely healed within 21 days under the treatment of CuGA-MOF@OKGM-MNs, and the healing effect was better than other groups. These indicated that the proposed CuGA-MOF@OKGM-MNs could be applicable in the treatment of clinical wound healing.

Mapping the metabolic characteristics of probiotic-fermented Ganoderma lucidum and its protective mechanism against Cd-induced nephrotoxicity.

An animal model of Cd-induced kidney damage was designed to investigate the nephroprotective potential of the probiotic-fermented Ganoderma lucidum (FGL) via metabonomic analysis. The results showed that FGL enhanced sugar and amino acid metabolism. The interaction of Ganoderma lucidum (GL) and probiotics efficiently elevated short-chain fatty acid production following gut microbiota fermentation. The current data revealed that the FGL intervention alleviated Cd-induced nephrotoxicity via elevating the activity of antioxidant enzymes and decreasing the levels of pro-inflammatory and apoptotic factors. Based on transcriptome analysis, FGL intervention mediated renal dysfunction via decreasing the expressions of Nos2, Tnfsf14, S100a9, Map3k6 and Hk3, which were involved in oxidative stress, inflammatory response and the apoptosis process. The current study highlights a new approach for achieving positive nephroprotection via natural product intervention.

Delivery of bone morphogenetic protein-2 by crosslinking heparin to nile tilapia skin collagen for promotion of rat calvaria bone defect repair.

Collagen has been widely used as a biomaterial for tissue regeneration. At the present, aqua-collagen derived from fish is poorly explored for biomedical material applications due to its insufficient thermal stability. To improve the bone repair ability and thermal stability of fish collagen, the tilapia skin collagen was crosslinked by EDC/NHS with heparin to bind specifically to BMP-2. The thermal stability of tilapia skin collagen crosslinked with heparin (HC-COL) was detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Cytotoxicity of HC-COL was assessed by detecting MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation using CCK-8 assay. The specific binding of BMP-2 to HC-COL was tested and the bioactivity of BMP-2-loaded HC-COL (HC-COL-BMP-2) was evaluated in vitro by inducing MC3T3-E1 cell differentiation. In vivo, the bone repair ability of HC-COL-2 was evaluated using micro-CT and histological observation. After crosslinking by EDC/NHS, the heparin-linked and the thermostability of the collagen of Nile Tilapia were improved simultaneously. HC-COL has no cytotoxicity. In addition, the binding of BMP-2 to HC-COL was significantly increased. Furthermore, the in vitro study revealed the effective bioactivity of BMP-2 binding on HC-COL by inducing MC3T3-E1 cells with higher ALP activity and the formation of mineralized nodules. In vivo studies showed that more mineralized and mature bone formation was achieved in HC-COL-BMP-2 group. The prepared HC-COL was an effective BMP-2 binding carrier with enough thermal stability and could be a useful biomaterial for bone repair.