Nanofibrous Membrane Dressings Loaded With Sodium Hydrogen Sulfide/Endothelial Progenitor Cells Promote Wound Healing

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has been identified as an important gasotransmitter. H(2)S donor can release H(2)S sustained and is used as wound dressing. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), given their regenerative ability, have also been reported to enhance wound healing. However, effective drug carriers are missing for the clinical application of H(2)S and EPCs. In this study, we investigated a novel drug carrier nanofibrous membrane, which was prepared by blending the recombinant spider silk protein (rMaSp) and sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS) by electrospun. Our results show that the rMaSp/NaHS nanofibrous membrane is associated with high hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility and is capable of stably releasing H(2)S for a long period of time. We also tested the rMaSp/NaHS membrane loaded with EPCs in an in vivo cutaneous wound model. We showed that the rMaSp/NaHS/EPC system significantly enhances wound regeneration efficiency as compared to rMaSp membrane and rMaSp/NaHS membrane. This study provides key evidence supporting the clinical application of nanofibrous membrane in the field of skin tissue regeneration.