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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Apr 15, 2023; 14(4): 364-395
Published online Apr 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i4.364
Therapeutic role of growth factors in treating diabetic wound
Shen-Yuan Zheng, Xin-Xing Wan, Piniel Alphayo Kambey, Yan Luo, Xi-Min Hu, Yi-Fan Liu, Jia-Qi Shan, Yu-Wei Chen, Kun Xiong
Shen-Yuan Zheng, Xi-Min Hu, Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan Province, China
Shen-Yuan Zheng, Xi-Min Hu, Kun Xiong, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Xin-Xing Wan, Department of Endocrinology, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Piniel Alphayo Kambey, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, Jiangsu Province, China
Yan Luo, Yi-Fan Liu, Jia-Qi Shan, Yu-Wei Chen, Clinical Medicine Eight-Year Program, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Kun Xiong, Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma, College of Emergency and Trauma, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 571199, Hainan Province, China
Kun Xiong, Hunan Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Author contributions: Zheng SY were the major contributors to literature reviewing, manuscript writing, and descriptive figures creating; Zheng SY, Luo Y, Liu YF, Shan JQ and Chen YW were the major contributors to screen the literature; Zheng SY and Xiong K were the major contributors to design the study; Hu XM assisted in the literature review and tables editing; Xiong K and Wan XX were major contributors to manuscript revision; Kambey PA was responsible for the content flow and language editing; The final manuscript was read and approved by all authors.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81971891 and No. 82172196; Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma (Hainan Medical University) of Ministry of Education, No. KLET-202108; and the College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project, No. S20210026020013.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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: Kun Xiong, Doctor, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, No. 172 Tongzipo Road, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China. xiongkun2001@163.com
Received: December 23, 2022
Peer-review started: December 23, 2022
First decision: January 9, 2023
Revised: January 16, 2023
Accepted: March 21, 2023
Article in press: March 21, 2023
Published online: April 15, 2023
Processing time: 109 Days and 21.6 Hours
Abstract

Wounds in diabetic patients, especially diabetic foot ulcers, are more difficult to heal compared with normal wounds and can easily deteriorate, leading to amputation. Common treatments cannot heal diabetic wounds or control their many complications. Growth factors are found to play important roles in regulating complex diabetic wound healing. Different growth factors such as transforming growth factor beta 1, insulin-like growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor play different roles in diabetic wound healing. This implies that a therapeutic modality modulating different growth factors to suit wound healing can significantly improve the treatment of diabetic wounds. Further, some current treatments have been shown to promote the healing of diabetic wounds by modulating specific growth factors. The purpose of this study was to discuss the role played by each growth factor in therapeutic approaches so as to stimulate further therapeutic thinking.

Keywords: Growth factor; Skin; Diabetic wound; Therapy; Biomaterial; Delivery system

Core Tip: This review summarizes the main causes of poor wound healing in diabetes and the role of various therapeutically available growth factors in wound healing. In terms of treatment, it summarizes the treatment methods and drug delivery systems of various growth factors, and discusses the therapeutic effects of different methods and the special properties of drug delivery systems. We hope these discussions will provide the basis for more effective treatments, advance growth factor research, and help more people with diabetes heal their wounds.