Injectable self-healing natural hydrogels laden with mesenchymal stem cells for enhanced mucosal wound healing
摘要
Hydrogel delivery systems hold significant promise for promoting tissue repair, and there is a great expectation to develop hydrogel systems with high biocompatibility and bioactive function. Herein, we introduce a natural hydrogel polymer encapsulating mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), formulated with aldehyde-modified oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), designed to effectively enhance mucosal wound healing. The physicochemical properties of the hydrogel, including the porous structure and mechanical strength, can be precisely adjusted by altering the concentration of CMCS. Formed via dynamic and reversible Schiff base reactions, the hydrogel exhibits self-healing, shear-thinning, and tissue adhesive abilities. The encapsulated MSCs have been shown to significantly enhance angiogenesis and cell migration, as evidenced by angiogenesis assays and scratch assays. On the basis of these properties, it has been verified that the MSCs-encapsulated hydrogels can better regulate angiogenesis and inflammation in a rat buccal mucosal injury model in vivo and promote wound healing by improving the viability and survival time of MSCs. We therefore believe that this hydrogel system will be very promising in clinical practice.