The minimal active domain of human salivary histatin 1 is efficacious in promoting acute skin wound healing

Bioactive hemostatic materials: a new strategy for promoting wound healing and tissue regeneration

Wound healing remains a critical global healthcare challenge, with an annual treatment cost exceeding $50 billion worldwide. Over the past decade, significant advances in wound care have focused on developing sophisticated biomaterials that promote tissue regeneration and prevent complications. Despite these developments, there remains a crucial need for multifunctional wound healing materials that can effectively address the complex, multiphase nature of wound repair while being cost effective and easily applicable in various clinical settings. This review systematically analyzes the latest developments in wound healing materials, examining their chemical composition, structural design, and therapeutic mechanisms. We comprehensively evaluate various bioactive components, including natural polymers, synthetic matrices, and hybrid composites, along with their different forms, such as hydrogels, powders, and smart dressings. Special attention is given to emerging strategies in material design that integrate multiple therapeutic functions, including sustained drug delivery, infection prevention, and tissue regeneration promotion. The insights provided in this review illuminate the path toward next-generation wound healing materials, highlighting opportunities for developing more effective therapeutic solutions that can significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare burden.

Histatins, proangiogenic molecules with therapeutic implications in regenerative medicine

Recent studies show that a group of salivary peptides, collectively known as histatins, are potent inducers of wound healing in both soft and hard tissues. Among these molecules, histatin-1 stands out for its ability to stimulate the repair of skin, oral mucosal, and osseous tissue. Remarkably, all these effects are associated with the capacity of histatin-1 to promote angiogenesis via inducing endothelial cell adhesion, migration, and signaling. These findings have opened new opportunities in the field of regenerative medicine, leading to an increasing number of articles and patents proposing therapeutic uses of histatin-1. However, this scenario raises a relevant concern regarding the appropriate use of these molecules, since, unlike the mode of action, little is known about the molecular mechanism by which they promote angiogenesis and wound healing. Recent studies shed light on the pharmacodynamics of histatin-1, by identifying the endothelial receptor that it binds and downstream signaling. This perspective will discuss current evidence on the role of histatins in wound healing and angiogenesis, emphasizing their impact on regenerative medicine.

Cocktail Cell-Reprogrammed Hydrogel Microspheres Achieving Scarless Hair Follicle Regeneration

The scar repair inevitably causes damage of skin function and loss of skin appendages such as hair follicles (HF). It is of great challenge in wound repair that how to intervene in scar formation while simultaneously remodeling HF niche and inducing in situ HF regeneration. Here, chemical reprogramming techniques are used to identify a clinically chemical cocktail (Tideglusib and Tamibarotene) that can drive fibroblasts toward dermal papilla cell (DPC) fate. Considering the advantage of biomaterials in tissue repair and their regulation in cell behavior that may contributes to cellular reprogramming, the artificial HF seeding (AHFS) hydrogel microspheres, inspired by the natural processes of "seeding and harvest", are constructed via using a combination of liposome nanoparticle drug delivery system, photoresponsive hydrogel shell, positively charged polyamide modification, microfluidic and photocrosslinking techniques. The identified chemical cocktail is as the core nucleus of AHFS. In vitro and in vivo studies show that AHFS can regulate fibroblast fate, induce fibroblast-to-DPC reprogramming by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway, finally promoting wound healing and in situ HF regeneration while inhibiting scar formation in a two-pronged translational approach. In conclusion, AHFS provides a new and effective strategy for functional repair of skin wounds.