Figure 6. (A)Representative H&E-stained images and Masson’s
trichrome staining image of the wounds on day 7. Bar, 500 μm.
Representative images of wounded (day 7) skin stained to show the
expression of (B) CD31 (green) and α-SMA(red) in the wounds (blue); (C)
CD86 (green) and CD163 (red) in the wounds (blue). Bar, 100 μm.
As shown in Figure 6B and 6C, to further analyze the enhancement effect
in wound recovery, the immunofluorescence staining of wound tissues on
day 7 were processed. In the proliferation phase, the occurrence of
neovascularization is critical to ensure the transport of nutrients and
oxygen to the wound site to sustain fibroblast proliferation, collagen
synthesis, and re-epithelialization. Immunostaining of the platelet
endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31) can assess the presence of
newly generated vessels in the granulation tissue. The α-smooth muscle
actin (α-SMA) is closely related to the proliferation of fibroblasts.
The wound sections from the ANVs and THB@ANVs hydrogel groups had more
CD31 and α-SMA compared to the control group. This result
suggests that THB@ANVs hydrogel
can enhance the healing process more rapidly. Furthermore, CD86 and
CD163 staining verified that the M2/M1 macrophage of THB@ANVs hydrogel
group is the highest among all groups, demonstrating the wound healing
had entered to proliferative phase earlier than other groups.