Objective: Impaired wound healing in diabetic (DB) patients is a significant health problem; however, the roles that cytokines and innate immune cells contribute to this impaired healing are not completely understood. Approach: A mouse model was used to compare the innate immune response during DB and normal wound healing. Two 5-mm full-thickness wounds were created on the dorsal skin of BKS.Cg-m+/+Leprdb/J (DB) and C57BL/6 (wildtype) mice. Innate immune cell markers and cytokine mRNA levels were measured in wound biopsies during the first week of healing. Results: Innate immune cell influx (typified by the Gr-1 neutrophil marker and the Ym1 macrophage marker) was delayed in the DB wounds. Expression of the M2 macrophage-related genes, Ym1 and arginase 1, was significantly reduced in the DB wounds. PCR array analysis demonstrated altered cytokine expression in DB wounds. Most prominently, both interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-20 mRNA levels were significantly increased in the DB wounds. Innovation: This is the first study to identify increased levels of IL-17 and IL-20 in DB wounds. These cytokines are also elevated in the inflammatory skin disorder, psoriasis; thus, they may be potential therapeutic targets to aid in DB wound healing. Conclusion: The entire cytokine profile of DB wounds over the course of healing is not completely understood. This study suggests that the IL-17 and IL-20 families of cytokines should be further analyzed in the context of DB wound healing.Keywords: diabetes, cytokine, macrophage, wound healing
INTRODUCTIONIn normal wound healing, the first cells to be recruited to the wound are the polymorphonuclear cells (PMN). These cells decontaminate the wound by phagocytosing bacteria and they release chemokines and cytokines to recruit and activate macrophages in the wound. The macrophages also phagocytose bacteria, remove damaged tissue, and produce growth factors that stimulate angiogenesis, collagen deposition, and wound closure. Notably, depletion studies have suggested important roles for both PMN and macrophages in wound healing. Depletion of PMN was shown to accelerate both normal and diabetic (DB) wound healing. 1 The consequence of macrophage depletion is dependent on the phase of healing. Selective macrophage depletion (utilizing transgenic mice expressing the diphtheria toxin receptor In addition to the phase of wound healing, the role of the macrophage may depend on the subtype of macrophage that is present in each wound. Several different phenotypes of activated macrophages have been identified, including classically activated macrophages (M1) and alternatively activated macrophages (M2) (reviewed in Refs. [3][4][5] ). The M1 macrophages kill pathogens and clean the wound by removing dying cells and debris. They can also produce proteases, which may degrade the tissue. In contrast, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 activate M2 macrophages, which express the mannose receptor, L-arginase 1, dectin-1, FIZZ1, and Ym1, and decreased expression of IL-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a.4,...