Nitric oxide-releasing nanoparticles accelerate wound healing by promoting fibroblast migration and collagen deposition

George Han, Long N. Nguyen, Chitralekha MacHerla, Yuling Chi, Joel M. Friedman, Joshua D. Nosanchuk, Luis R. Martinez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

159 Scopus citations

Abstract

Wound healing is a complex process that involves coordinated interactions between diverse immunological and biological systems. Long-term wounds remain a challenging clinical problem, affecting approximately 6 million patients per year, with a high economic impact. To exacerbate the problem, these wounds render the individual susceptible to life-threatening microbial infections. Because current therapeutic strategies have proved suboptimal, it is imperative to focus on new therapeutic approaches and the development of technologies for both short- and long-term wound management. In recent years, nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a critical molecule in wound healing, with NO levels increasing rapidly after skin damage and gradually decreasing as the healing process progresses. In this study, we examined the effects of a novel NO-releasing nanoparticle technology on wound healing in mice. The results show that the NO nanoparticles (NO-np) significantly accelerated wound healing. NO-np modified leukocyte migration and increased tumor growth factor-β production in the wound area, which subsequently promoted angiogenesis to enhance the healing process. By using human dermal fibroblasts, we demonstrate that NO-np increased fibroblast migration and collagen deposition in wounded tissue. Together, these data show that NO-releasing nanoparticles have the ability to modulate and accelerate wound healing in a pleiotropic manner.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1465-1473
Number of pages9
JournalAmerican Journal of Pathology
Volume180
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine

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