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REVIEW article

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

Sec. Molecular and Cellular Pathology

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1625474

Mitochondrial dysfunction in diabetic ulcers: Pathophysiological mechanisms and targeted therapeutic strategies

Provisionally accepted
Yu  PanYu Pan1Lin  ChenLin Chen1Yan  ChenYan Chen1Elizabeth  Rosalind ThomasElizabeth Rosalind Thomas2Shiying  ZhouShiying Zhou1You  YangYou Yang1Kezhi  LiuKezhi Liu1Jianming  WuJianming Wu1Xiang  LiXiang Li1*
  • 1Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
  • 2PostGraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a serious complication of diabetes, characterized by delayed wound healing, recurrent infection, and risk of amputation. Mitochondrial dysfunction has emerged as a central pathological mechanism underlying impaired wound healing. Persistent hyperglycemia triggers a cascade of mitochondrial abnormalities like disrupted calcium homeostasis, excessive ROS production, impaired autophagy, increased apoptosis, and imbalanced mitochondrial dynamics. These alterations hinder ATP production, damage repair cells and delays tissue regeneration. This review comprehensively explores the mechanism of action of oxidative stress, mitochondrial apoptosis, autophagy dysfunction, calcium imbalance and ferroptosis on DFU pathogenesis. It also highlights promising mitochondrial targeted therapies. As mitochondria regulates key cellular processes, targeting mitochondrial dysfunction represents a novel and promising strategy. Future research should focus on integrated approaches to restore mitochondrial homeostasis in diabetic wound healing.

Keywords: diabetes, Mitochondria, Trauma, Apoptosis, ROS

Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 05 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Pan, Chen, Chen, Thomas, Zhou, Yang, Liu, Wu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Xiang Li, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China

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