Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Sep 26, 2023; 15(9): 947-959
Published online Sep 26, 2023. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v15.i9.947
Enhanced wound healing and hemostasis with exosome-loaded gelatin sponges from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells
Xin-Mei Hu, Can-Can Wang, Yu Xiao, Peng Jiang, Yu Liu, Zhong-Quan Qi
Xin-Mei Hu, Can-Can Wang, Yu Xiao, Peng Jiang, Yu Liu, Zhong-Quan Qi, Medical College, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Qi ZQ and Hu XM contributed to the study conception and design; Hu XM, Wang CC, and Xiao Y contributed to data collection, analysis, and interpretation; Hu XM contributed to manuscript writing; Hu XM, Wang CC, Xiao Y, Jiang P, and Liu Y performed the animal experiments; Qi ZQ, Hu XM, and Xiao Y contributed to the conception, design, financial support, and final approval of the manuscript; and all the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, No. 2018YFA0108304; the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81771721 and 81971505; and the Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education, No. YCBZ2022004 and YCBZ2022045.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All of the experimental procedures involving animals were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Guangxi University, Nanning, China (No. GXU-2021-1000).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhong-Quan Qi, MD, PhD, Professor, Medical College, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxuedong Road, Nanning 530004, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. yxyyz@gxu.edu.cn
Received: August 14, 2023
Peer-review started: August 14, 2023
First decision: August 22, 2023
Revised: August 31, 2023
Accepted: September 14, 2023
Article in press: September 14, 2023
Published online: September 26, 2023
Processing time: 41 Days and 16.2 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Hemostasis and wound healing are one of the common problems in clinics which need to be paid attention to. Gelatin sponge is often used as a hemostatic material in clinics. Exosomes have been proved to play an important role in wound repair. Therefore, it is worth studying whether the combination of exosomes derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) and a gelatin sponge could promote hemostasis and wound healing more efficiently.

Research motivation

Poor wound healing would contribute a negative impact on patients’ quality of life and aggravate pain, stress and depression, so it is of great significance to find ways to effectively promote wound healing.

Research objectives

The present study aimed to investigate the hemostatic and wound healing efficacy of a gelatin sponge loaded with hUC-MSCs-derived exosomes.

Research methods

After the exosomes were extracted and characterized by ultracentrifugation, we loaded the exosomes on a gelatin sponge. Then, in vitro and in vivo experiments, including cell viability assay, hemolysis assay, skin irritation test, and histocompatibility assay were performed to verify the safety of the exosome-loaded gelatin sponge. Subsequently, whole blood coagulation index test, hemostatic assay using a rat liver defect hemostasis model, and full-thickness skin defect healing promoting test were performed to verify the effects of the exosome-loaded gelatin sponge in hemostasis and wound healing.

Research results

We successfully extracted exosomes from hUC-MSCs. The safety experiments showed that the gelatin sponge loaded with exosomes would not cause abnormal proliferation of L929 cells, hemolysis, or irritation to skin and tissues. In addition, the exosome-loaded gelatin sponge had a better hemostatic effect than the traditional gelatin sponge, which can promote the formation of collagen fibers and blood vessels around the wound and increase the proportion of Ki67-positive cells, thus promoting the wound healing.

Research conclusions

In a word, gelatin sponge loaded with hUC-MSCs-derived exosomes is safe. It is better than traditional gelatin sponge in stopping bleeding and promoting wound healing.

Research perspectives

The gelatin sponge loaded with exosomes derived from hUC-MSCs may be a potential material to stop bleeding and promote wound healing.