Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. May 15, 2025; 16(5): 98788
Published online May 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i5.98788
Targeting gut microbiota and its associated metabolites as a potential strategy for promoting would healing in diabetes
Ling Xiong, Ya-Xin Huang, Lan Mao, Yong Xu, Yong-Qiong Deng
Ling Xiong, Ya-Xin Huang, Lan Mao, Department of Dermatology & STD, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
Yong Xu, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
Yong-Qiong Deng, Department of Dermatology & STD, Chengdu Integrated TCM & Western Medicine Hospital, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China
Yong-Qiong Deng, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
Co-first authors: Ling Xiong and Ya-Xin Huang.
Co-corresponding authors: Yong Xu and Yong-Qiong Deng.
Author contributions: Xiong L and Deng YQ conceived the core concept of this review. Xiong L and Huang YX were responsible for literature collection, drafting the initial manuscript, and overseeing its comprehensive revision. Mao L created and visualized the figures, ensuring formatting consistency throughout the manuscript. Xu Y provided expert guidance and supervised the research direction and content. Deng YQ designed the review topic and participated in the final review of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version. Regarding the specific contributions to section writing, Xiong L and Huang YX developed the framework for the review on “fecal microbiota transplantation for diabetic wounds”. Xiong L drafted sections on hydrogen sulfide, short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and tryptophan. Huang YX drafted sections on diet and drugs, the abstract, background, other metabolites, and the discussion. Both authors made essential and irreplaceable contributions to the completion of this review and are thus listed as co-first authors. As co-corresponding authors, Deng YQ and Xu Y played vital roles in shaping the review topic, identifying innovative aspects, and finalizing and polishing the manuscript. Deng YQ successfully secured funding for this research project. The close collaboration between Xiong L and Huang YX was instrumental in the publication of this manuscript and the ongoing preparation of related manuscripts.
Supported by Sichuan Provincial Department of Science and Technology Youth Fund Project, No. 2024NSFSC1609; and Sichuan Province Postdoctoral Special Funding Project, No. TB2023046.
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: Yong-Qiong Deng, MD, PhD, Department of Dermatology & STD, Chengdu Integrated TCM and Western Medicine Hospital, No. 18 Wanxiang North Road, High-tech Zone, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan Province, China. dengyongqiong1@126.com
Received: July 5, 2024
Revised: January 3, 2025
Accepted: March 5, 2025
Published online: May 15, 2025
Processing time: 293 Days and 18.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Recent research has reported that an imbalance in the gut microbiota was linked to the onset of type 2 diabetes, as well as the development and progression of diabetic complications. Indeed, the gut microbiota has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach for treating type 2 diabetes and related diseases. However, there is few of literatures specifically discussing the relationship between gut microbiota and diabetic wounds. In this paper, we aim to explore the potential role of the gut microbiota, especially probiotics, and its associated byproducts such as short chain fatty acids, tryptophan metabolites, bile acids, and hydrogen sulfide on wound healing to provide fresh insights and novel perspectives for the treatment of chronic wounds in diabetes.