Hyaluronidase‐Responsive Bactericidal Cryogel for Promoting Healing of Infected Wounds: Inflammatory Attenuation, ROS Scavenging, and Immune Regulation

Abstract

Wounds infected with multidrug‐resistant (MDR) bacteria are increasingly threatening public health and challenging clinical treatments because of intensive bacterial colonization, excessive inflammatory responses, and superabundant oxidative stress. To overcome this malignant burden and promote wound healing, a multifunctional cryogel (HA/TA2/KR2) composed of hyaluronic acid (HA), tannic acid (TA), and KR‐12 peptides is designed. The cryogel exhibited excellent shape‐memory properties, strong absorption performance, and hemostatic capacity. In vitro experiments demonstrated that KR‐12 in the cryogel can be responsively released by stimulation with hyaluronidase produced by bacteria, reaching robust antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli), MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR‐PA), and methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by disrupting bacterial cell membranes. Furthermore, the synergetic effect of KR‐12 and TA can efficiently scavenge ROS and decrease expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α & interleukin (IL)−6), as well as modulate the macrophage phenotype toward the M2 type. In vivo animal tests indicated that the cryogel can effectively destroy bacteria in the wound and promote healing process via accelerating angiogenesis and re‐epithelialization. Proteomic analysis revealed the underlying mechanism by which the cryogel mainly reshaped the infected wound microenvironment by inhibiting the Nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) signaling pathway and activating the Janus kinase‐Signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK‐STAT6) signaling pathway. Therefore, the HA/TA2/KR2 cryogel is a promising dressing candidate for MDR bacteria‐infected wound healing.