Objective: Chronic wounds associated with diabetes are an important public health problem demanding new treatments to improve wound healing and decrease amputations. Monocytes/macrophages play a key role in sustained inflammation associated with impaired healing and local administration of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)γ agonists may modulate macrophage, improving healing. In this study, we investigated the effects of GQ-11, a partial/dual PPARα/γ agonist, on macrophage function and wound healing in diabetes. Approach: Wounds were surgically induced at the dorsum of C57BL/6J and BKS.Cg-Dock7m +/+ Leprdb/J (db/db) mice and treated with hydrogel (vehicle), pioglitazone or GQ-11, for 7 or 10 days, respectively. After treatment, wounds were analyzed histologically and by quantitative PCR (qPCR). In addition, bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) were cultured from C57BL/6J mice and treated with vehicle, pioglitazone, or GQ-11, after challenge with lipopolysaccharide or interleukin-4 to be analyzed by qPCR and flow cytometry. Results: GQ-11 treatment upregulated anti-inflammatory/pro-healing factors and downregulated pro-inflammatory factors both in wounds of db/db mice and in BMDM. Innovation: Wounds of db/db mice treated with GQ-11 exhibited faster wound closure and re-epithelization, increased collagen deposition, and less Mac-3 staining compared with vehicle, providing a new approach to treatment of diabetic wound healing to prevent complications. Conclusion: GQ-11 improves wound healing in db/db mice, regulating the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and wound growth factors, leading to increased re-epithelization and collagen deposition.
Keywords: biomarkers; cell biology; diabetes; wound closure.