A wound is an injury that breaks the skin or other part of the body. While all wounds start as acute, there are certain wounds that can become chronic. The most common types of chronic wounds include venous ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers and pressure ulcers. It is estimated that 1 to 2% of the population will experience a chronic wound during their lifetime in developed countries, costing at least $28.1 billion annually for the Medicare population alone. Current treatments for wound healing include wound cleaning and debridement, anti-microbial agents, healing promoters as well as herbal and natural products. However, no efficient evidence-based therapy is available for specific chronic wounds that can result in definitive clinical outcomes. Wound healing is achieved through four programmed stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Both chemokine receptors and the corresponding chemokines have been reported to be regulated in different wound healing stages, indicating that chemokine receptors play critical roles in the healing process. The underlying causes of wounds are multifactorial, specifically with chronic inflammation. However, much remains to be learned about the mechanisms of chemokine receptors and signaling involved in the wound healing process.
The major cell types involved in cutaneous wound healing span from hematopoietic cells (such as blood platelets), immune regulators (such as neutrophils, T cells, dendritic cells, monocytes and macrophages), to structural cells (such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells and keratinocytes, epithelial cells). Interestingly, both chemokine receptors (CCRs) and the corresponding chemokines are highly regulated among the cell types mentioned above during different stages of wound healing, indicating that CCRs play a critical role in the wound healing. The chemokines are a large family of small, secreted proteins that signal through binding to cell surface chemokine receptors. Chemokine receptors are class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that induce signal transduction predominantly via Gai but occasionally also other G proteins such as Gaq. There are, in total, around 50 chemokines and 20 Chemokine receptors. Chemokine-receptor interaction triggers Ca2+ release which causes cell responses, including chemotaxis of cells and mediates antimicrobial activity. Even though progress has been made in the role of chemokine receptors in chronic wound healing such as diabetic foot ulcers, we are still far from the development of commercial therapeutic drugs. Therefore, it is imperative to discover the cellular and molecular mechanisms of chemokine receptors and their signaling involved in wound healing process.
The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a forum focusing on discovering how chemokine receptors and their signaling underlie these inflammation-related pathological conditions in wound healing. Studies of cellular and molecular mechanism, signal transduction in vitro cell systems and in vivo animal models, as well as human clinical samples are welcome to accelerate the findings of the novel interventions and drug development. In this Research Topic, we welcome the following article types describing new therapeutic strategies and chemokine signaling in wound healing: Original Research, Systematic Review, Mini Review, Brief Research Report, Case Report, Clinical Trial, Correction, Data Report, Editorial, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Review and Technology and Code.
A wound is an injury that breaks the skin or other part of the body. While all wounds start as acute, there are certain wounds that can become chronic. The most common types of chronic wounds include venous ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers and pressure ulcers. It is estimated that 1 to 2% of the population will experience a chronic wound during their lifetime in developed countries, costing at least $28.1 billion annually for the Medicare population alone. Current treatments for wound healing include wound cleaning and debridement, anti-microbial agents, healing promoters as well as herbal and natural products. However, no efficient evidence-based therapy is available for specific chronic wounds that can result in definitive clinical outcomes. Wound healing is achieved through four programmed stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Both chemokine receptors and the corresponding chemokines have been reported to be regulated in different wound healing stages, indicating that chemokine receptors play critical roles in the healing process. The underlying causes of wounds are multifactorial, specifically with chronic inflammation. However, much remains to be learned about the mechanisms of chemokine receptors and signaling involved in the wound healing process.
The major cell types involved in cutaneous wound healing span from hematopoietic cells (such as blood platelets), immune regulators (such as neutrophils, T cells, dendritic cells, monocytes and macrophages), to structural cells (such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells and keratinocytes, epithelial cells). Interestingly, both chemokine receptors (CCRs) and the corresponding chemokines are highly regulated among the cell types mentioned above during different stages of wound healing, indicating that CCRs play a critical role in the wound healing. The chemokines are a large family of small, secreted proteins that signal through binding to cell surface chemokine receptors. Chemokine receptors are class A G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that induce signal transduction predominantly via Gai but occasionally also other G proteins such as Gaq. There are, in total, around 50 chemokines and 20 Chemokine receptors. Chemokine-receptor interaction triggers Ca2+ release which causes cell responses, including chemotaxis of cells and mediates antimicrobial activity. Even though progress has been made in the role of chemokine receptors in chronic wound healing such as diabetic foot ulcers, we are still far from the development of commercial therapeutic drugs. Therefore, it is imperative to discover the cellular and molecular mechanisms of chemokine receptors and their signaling involved in wound healing process.
The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a forum focusing on discovering how chemokine receptors and their signaling underlie these inflammation-related pathological conditions in wound healing. Studies of cellular and molecular mechanism, signal transduction in vitro cell systems and in vivo animal models, as well as human clinical samples are welcome to accelerate the findings of the novel interventions and drug development. In this Research Topic, we welcome the following article types describing new therapeutic strategies and chemokine signaling in wound healing: Original Research, Systematic Review, Mini Review, Brief Research Report, Case Report, Clinical Trial, Correction, Data Report, Editorial, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Review and Technology and Code.
