The potential of human induced pluripotent stem cells for modelling diabetic wound healing in vitro

Abstract

Impaired wound healing and ulceration caused by diabetes mellitus, is a significant healthcare burden, markedly impairs quality of life for patients, and is the major cause of amputation worldwide. Current experimental approaches used to investigate the complex wound healing process often involve cultures of fibroblasts and/or keratinocytes , which can be limited in terms of complexity and capacity, or utilisation of rodent models in which the mechanisms of wound repair differ substantively from that in humans. However, advances in tissue engineering, and the discovery of strategies to reprogramme adult somatic cells to pluripotency, has led to the possibility of developing models of human skin on a large scale. Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from tissues donated by diabetic patients allows the (epi)genetic background of this disease to be studied, and the ability to differentiate iPSCs to multiple cell types found within skin may facilitate the development of more complex skin models; these advances offer key opportunities for improving modelling of wound healing in diabetes, and the development of effective therapeutics for treatment of chronic wounds.

Effects of Dendrobium Polysaccharides on the Functions of Human Skin Fibroblasts and Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 under High-Glucose Conditions

“…It is noteworthy that the decrease in the number and activity of fibroblasts is also one of the reasons for the reduced synthesis of collagen [9,10]. Many in-depth studies have shown that the amount and vitality of skin fibroblasts are also important in diabetic skin injury and healing [11,12]. Dendrobium polysaccharide, also called polysaccharides of Dendrobium candidum (PDC), is the main bioactive substance of Dendrobium candidum.…”

Therapeutic angiogenesis using stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles: an emerging approach for treatment of ischemic diseases

“…iPSCs are an abundant potential source of autologous or donor-matched cells for therapy and, therefore, have emerged as a promising alternative to ESCs for stem cell transplantation therapy. Scientists found that use of iPSCs or iPSC-derived fibroblasts with three-dimensional structure could improve wound healing [84, 85]. Recently, EVs derived from iPSCs (iPSC-EVs) were also used to treat diabetic wounds in mice [62].…”

A review of diabetic wound models—Novel insights into diabetic foot ulcer

“…The presence of microbial infection in the biopsy may also further complicate the subsequent 3D culture processes. To overcome these challenges, research regarding the utilization of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from diabetes or DFU patients is actively being explored (Martin et al, 2018). iPSCs are characterized by their indefinite self-renewal ability and the potential to differentiate into multiple cell types (Siller et al, 2013).…”