Excessive scar formation has adverse physiological and psychological effects on patients; therefore, a therapeutic strategy for rapid wound healing and reduced scar formation is urgently needed. Herein, bilayered thiolated alginate/PEG diacrylate (BSSPD) hydrogels were fabricated for sequential release of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), which acted in different wound healing phases, to achieve rapid and scarless wound healing. The sEVs secreted by bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (B-sEVs) were released from the lower layer of the hydrogels to promote angiogenesis and collagen deposition by accelerating fibroblast and endothelial cell proliferation and migration during the early inflammation and proliferation phases, while sEVs secreted by miR-29b-3p-enriched bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells were released from the upper layer of the hydrogels and suppressed excessive capillary proliferation and collagen deposition during the late proliferation and maturation phases. In a full-thickness skin defect model of rats and rabbit ears, the wound repair rate, angiogenesis, and collagen deposition were evaluated at different time points after treatment with BSSPD loaded with B-sEVs. Interestingly, during the end of the maturation phase in the in vivo model, tissues in the groups treated with BSSPD loaded with sEVs for sequential release (SR-sEVs@BSSPD) exhibited a more uniform vascular structure distribution, more regular collagen arrangement, and lower volume of hyperplastic scar tissue than tissues in the other groups. Hence, SR-sEVs@BSSPD based on skin repair phases was successfully designed and has considerable potential as a cell-free therapy for scarless wound healing.
Keywords: scarless; sequential release; small extracellular vesicles; thiolated alginate/polyethylene glycol diacrylate hydrogels; wound healing.