Experimental study on sprayable autologous epidermal cells for promoting full-thickness skin wound healing in diabetes.

Abstract

The technology of sprayable autologous epidermal cells has been proven effective in promoting epidermal regeneration and healing chronic refractory wounds. However, its underlying impact in diabetic wound healing remains less understood. The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this innovative therapy by analyzing key aspects of wound healing, including re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, inflammation, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Diabetes was induced in Wuzhishan pigs using streptozotocin injection. Full-thickness wounds were then created on the pigs, which were randomly assigned to two groups (n = 8 per group): the experimental group was treated with sprayable autologous epidermal cells, while the control group received no treatment. The findings indicated that wounds treated with sprayable autologous epidermal cells exhibited a significantly improved rate of complete wound closure (100.0 % vs. 86.9 ± 5.3 %; p < 0.05). Histological analysis of the experimental group revealed re-epithelialization with thicker epidermis （87.0 ± 10.5 μm vs. 70.3 ± 9.2 μm, p < 0.001）and longer rete ridges (7.8 ± 0.89 vs. 5.5 ± 1.1 per mm, p < 0.01) compared to the control group on postoperative day 21. Further analysis demonstrated decreases in inflammatory cytokine expression and extracellular matrix deposition in the experimental group compared to the control group. Additionally, the experimental group exhibited increases in new blood vessel formation, pericyte coverage, cell proliferation markers, and growth factor expression. Therefore, this small sample size study suggests that sprayable autologous epidermal cell therapy may accelerate diabetic wound healing, with potential for broader clinical application in larger studies.