Dynamic matrix engineering promotes nascent protein deposition to drive cell migration and expedite Re-epithelization in chronic wound.

Abstract

Chronic wound healing remains a formidable clinical challenge, fundamentally hindered by stalled re-epithelialization caused by dysfunctional cell migration arising from a disordered mechano-biochemical microenvironment. Current <b>therapeutic</b> strategies relying on externally-assisted growth factors or mechanical stimulation often neglect the inherent capacity of the native, dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM) to govern cell behavior, specifically its viscoelasticity. By engineering a reversible hydrazone-crosslinked lysozyme-polyethylene glycol (LZM-PEG) dynamic hydrogel, we elucidated the mechanism whereby enhanced network dynamics activate early cell mechanotransduction via the integrin-FAK signaling axis, promoting nascent protein deposition which subsequently drives directed cell migration. Importantly, this mechano-biological effect exhibits distinct network dynamics dependence, as evidenced by the complete abolition of cell migration upon network rigidification, suggesting that matrix network dynamics constitutes a key regulatory factor. Diabetic mouse models demonstrated that this dynamic hydrogel accelerates chronic wound re-epithelialization by driving epithelial cell migration, solely by recapitulating ECM dynamics without exogenous interventions. This therapeutic effect reveals that the intrinsic mechano-bioactivity embedded in hydrogel's dynamic network can accelerate tissue repair by modulating <i>in situ</i> cell behavior. Collectively, this study uncovers a mechano-biological axis: matrix dynamics-nascent protein deposition-cell migration, which provides mechanobiological insights into tissue repair, and offers a novel "materiobiology" design strategy for next-generation regenerative materials.