Lean adipose tissue macrophage derived exosome confers immunoregulation to improve wound healing in diabetes

Chronic non-healing wounds, a prevalent complication of diabetes, are associated with increased mortality in diabetic patients. Excessive accumulation of M1 macrophages in diabetic wounds promotes inflammation and results in dysregulated tissue repair. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) derived from healthy lean donors have the ability to improve glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, as well as modulate inflammation. MicroRNAs (miRs), which can be packaged into exosomes (Exos) and secreted from cells, serve as essential regulators of macrophage polarization. Here, we revealed that ATMs isolated from lean mice secrete miRs-containing Exos, which modulate macrophage polarization and promote rapid diabetic wound healing when administered to diabetes-prone db/db mice. The miRs sequence of tissue samples from wounds treated with Exos secreted by lean ATMs (Exos(Lean)) revealed that miR-222-3p was up-regulated. Further analyses showed that inhibiting miR-222-3p using a miR inhibitor impaired the macrophage-reprogramming effect of Exos(Lean). In the excisional skin wound mouse model, locally inhibiting miR-222-3p disrupted healing dynamics and failed to modulate macrophage polarization. Mechanistic studies revealed a connection between miR-222-3p, Bcl2l11/Bim, an inflammatory response effector, macrophage polarization, and diabetic wound healing. In summary, Exos(Lean) act as positive regulators of macrophage polarization by regulating miR levels in wounds and accelerating wound healing, and thus have important implications for wound management in diabetes. GRAPHIC ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-023-01869-4.