Role of matrix metalloproteinases in diabetic foot ulcers: Potential therapeutic targets

Kang Fu; Xueyao Zheng; Yuhan Chen; Liuying Wu; Zhiming Yang; Xu Chen; Wei Song

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.1050630

Role of matrix metalloproteinases in diabetic foot ulcers: Potential therapeutic targets

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Oct 20:13:1050630. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1050630. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Kang Fu¹, Xueyao Zheng¹, Yuhan Chen^{1

2}, Liuying Wu^{1

2}, Zhiming Yang^{1

2}, Xu Chen^{1

2}, Wei Song^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China.
² National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of High-throughput Drug Screening Technology, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are pathological states of tissue destruction of the foot or lower extremity in diabetic patients and are one of the serious chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) serve crucial roles in both pathogenesis and wound healing. The primary functions of MMPs are degradation, which involves removing the disrupted extracellular matrix (ECM) during the inflammatory phase, facilitating angiogenesis and cell migration during the proliferation phase, and contracting and rebuilding the tissue during the remodeling phase. Overexpression of MMPs is a feature of DFUs. The upregulated MMPs in DFUs can cause excessive tissue degradation and impaired wound healing. Regulation of MMP levels in wounds could promote wound healing in DFUs. In this review, we talk about the roles of MMPs in DFUs and list potential methods to prevent MMPs from behaving in a manner detrimental to wound healing in DFUs.

Keywords: MMP inhibitors; diabetic foot ulcers; matrix metalloproteinases; tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases; wound healing.

Publication types

Review