Plasma-polymerized pericyte patches improve healing of murine wounds through increased angiogenesis and reduced inflammation

Hannah M Thomas; Parinaz Ahangar; Robert Fitridge; Giles T S Kirby; Stuart J Mills; Allison J Cowin

doi:10.1093/rb/rbab024

Plasma-polymerized pericyte patches improve healing of murine wounds through increased angiogenesis and reduced inflammation

Regen Biomater. 2021 Jun 30;8(4):rbab024. doi: 10.1093/rb/rbab024. eCollection 2021 Aug.

Authors

Hannah M Thomas^{1

2}, Parinaz Ahangar^{1

2}, Robert Fitridge³, Giles T S Kirby¹, Stuart J Mills^{1

2}, Allison J Cowin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes SA 5095, Australia.
² Cell Therapy Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia.
³ Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia.

Abstract

Pericytes have the potential to be developed as a cell therapy for the treatment of wounds; however, the efficacy of any cell therapy relies on the successful delivery of intact and functioning cells. Here, the effect of delivering pericytes on wound repair was assessed alongside the development of a surface-functionalized pericyte patch. Plasma polymerization (PP) was used to functionalize the surface of silicone patches with heptylamine (HA) or acrylic acid (AA) monomers. Human pericytes were subsequently delivered to murine excisional wounds by intradermal injection or using the pericyte-laden patches and the comparative effects on wound healing, inflammation and revascularization determined. The AA surface provided the superior transfer of the cells to de-epidermized dermis. Excisional murine wounds treated either with pericytes injected directly into the wound or with the pericyte-laden AA patches showed improved healing with decreased neutrophil infiltration and reduced numbers of macrophages in the wounds. Pericyte delivery also enhanced angiogenesis through a mechanism independent of VEGF signalling. Pericytes, when delivered to wounds, improved healing responses by dampening inflammation and promoting angiogenesis. Delivery of pericytes using PP-AA-functionalized patches was equally as effective as direct injection of pericytes into wounds. Pericyte-functionalized dressings may therefore be a clinically relevant approach for the treatment of wounds.

Keywords: advanced surfaces; cell therapy; pericytes; plasma polymerization; wound healing.