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Evaluating the integration and longevity of a novel reconstitutable liquid wound matrix in a murine model

University of British Columbia

Chronic wounds are one of the most prevalent health conditions worldwide, causing disability and impaired quality of life for those affected, ultimately resulting in a massive global economic burden. Among the many therapeutic options available for the treatment of chronic wounds, injectable extracellular matrix (ECM)-based wound scaffolds are the most suitable option to treat chronic wounds with complex geometries. Unfortunately, commercially available injectable biomaterials come with specific drawbacks. They are scarce, costly, and limited by their delayed integration. To address these limitations, our research group developed a novel injectable ECM-based wound matrix, referred to as MeshFill, for the treatment of a variety of wounds, including those that are further complicated by deep, irregular, and tunnelled wound beds. In this project, we hypothesized that MeshFill rapidly and efficiently integrates with the host tissue upon application, and allows timely cellular infiltration, survival, and proliferation within the matrix to promote wound repair. To address this hypothesis, the following objectives were designed: Objective 1: Evaluate the efficiency of the integration of MeshFill by assessing the host’s inflammatory response to its application and measuring the magnitude of the cellular infiltration into the scaffold. Histological evaluation and immunofluorescence staining and quantification of Vimentin+, CD45+, and CD3+ cells were performed. Objective 2: Evaluate the longevity of MeshFill following sub-dermal implantation in mice. Biotin-labeled MeshFill was followed histologically with immunofluorescence staining. In this experimental study, we compared our results with Integra®Flowable Wound Matrix, an injectable ECM-based matrix that is commercially available for the treatment of tunneling wounds. MeshFill showed early integration with the host tissue, allowing significant cellular infiltration without inducing an adverse host response. Contrarily, Integra®Flowable prompted a dense capsule-like reaction that limited cellular migration into the scaffold during the first 2 weeks. Longevity assessment of MeshFill revealed slow degradation of a single sub-dermal injection over a 4-week period, with no trace of the biotinylated MeshFill detected after 6 weeks. Results gained from this study demonstrate the potential of this wound matrix as an advanced therapeutic alternative for the management of deep tunnelled wounds.

Text

2022-05-31

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/70355

Experimental Medicine

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/