Sulfated polysaccharide facilitates macrophage-Treg crosstalk to mitigate chronic inflammation in diabetic wound healing.

ABSTRACT: Diabetic wounds struggle to heal due to chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation, in which regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical for inflammation resolution and tissue repair. However, effective strategies for on-demand Treg recruitment remain elusive. Here, we innovatively integrated sulfated chitosan (SCS)-a chemically modified polysaccharide-with a microneedle structure to engineer an active immunomodulatory delivery system. The engineered sulfation domains confer synergistic cytokine-binding capacity to SCS, thereby equipping the material with enhanced functionality in immunomodulation. Mechanistically, SCS drives macrophage polarization via the IL-4/STAT6-PPARγ cascade, triggering CCL22-dependent Treg chemotaxis. The SCS establishes bidirectional macrophage-Treg crosstalk, enab

SUBMITTER: Shen T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12547169 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature