Non pharmacological high-intensity ultrasound treatment of human dermal fibroblasts to accelerate wound healing

Effect of Therapeutic Ultrasound on the Mechanical and Biological Properties of Fibroblasts

Purpose

This paper explores the effect of therapeutic ultrasound on the mechanical and biological properties of ligament fibroblasts.

Methods and Results

We assessed pulsed ultrasound doses of 1.0 and 2.0 W/cm2 at 1 MHz frequency for five days on ligament fibroblasts using a multidisciplinary approach. Atomic force microscopy showed a decrease in cell elastic modulus for both doses, but the treated cells were still viable based on flow cytometry. Finite element method analysis exhibited visible cytoskeleton displacements and decreased harmonics in treated cells. Colorimetric assay revealed increased cell proliferation, while scratch assay showed increased migration at a low dose. Enzyme-linked immunoassay detected increased collagen and fibronectin at a high dose, and immunofluorescence imaging technique visualized β-actin expression for both treatments.

Conclusion

Both doses of ultrasound altered the fibroblast mechanical properties due to cytoskeletal reorganization and enhanced the regenerative and remodeling stages of cell repair.

Lay Summary

Knee ligament injuries are a lesion of the musculoskeletal system frequently diagnosed in active and sedentary lifestyles in young and older populations. Therapeutic ultrasound is a rehabilitation strategy that may lead to the regenerative and remodeling of ligament wound healing. This research demonstrated that pulsed therapeutic ultrasound applied for 5 days reorganized the ligament fibroblasts structure to increase the cell proliferation and migration at a low dose and to increase the releasing proteins that give the stiffness of the healed ligament at a high dose.

Future Works

Future research should further develop and confirm that therapeutic ultrasound may improve the regenerative and remodeling stages of the ligament healing process applied in clinical trials in active and sedentary lifestyles in young and older populations.

Graphical abstract

Adipose-derived stem cells-derived exosomes facilitate cutaneous wound healing by delivering XIST and restoring discoidin domain receptor 2

BACKGROUND

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) and their derived exosomes (ADSC-Exos) have shown potential functions in tissue repair. This study focuses on the effects of ADSCs-Exos on cutaneous wound healing and the potential involvement of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) XIST/microRNA-96-5p (miR-96-5p)/discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) axis.

METHODS

Exos were isolated from the ADSCs and identified. A mouse model of full-thickness skin wounds was established. The mice were treated with ADSC-Exos to evaluate the function of ADSC-Exos in wound healing. Mouse dermal fibroblasts (MDFs) were co-cultured with the ADSC-Exos for in vitro experiments. The most differentially expressed lncRNAs in mouse skin tissues after ADSC-Exo treatment were screened by microarray analysis. The downstream molecules were analyzed by bioinformatics tools. Gain- and loss-of-function studies were performed to examine the functions of the XIST/miR-96-5p/DDR2 axis in wound healing.

RESULTS

ADSC-Exos facilitated wound healing in mice, reduced inflammatory infiltration, and increased collagen deposition in the wound skin tissues. In vitro, the ADSC-Exos promoted proliferation, migration of the MDFs. XIST was the most upregulated lncRNA in MDFs after ADSC-Exo treatment. Downregulation of XIST suppressed the promoting role of ADSC-Exos in wound healing. XIST bound to miR-96-5p to restore the expression of DDR2 mRNA. Either silencing of miR-96-5p or overexpression of DDR2 restored the promoting functions of ADSC-Exos in proliferation and migration of MDFs.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that ADSC-Exos-carried XIST accelerates cutaneous wound healing through suppressing miR-96-5p and restoring the DDR2 expression.