Transcriptomic Profiling of Diabetic Porcine Wound Healing Model Identifies Key Metabolic, Inflammatory, and...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research
• Preclinical modeling
• Wound healing research

Background:

• Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a growing clinical problem with limited effective treatments.
• Existing rodent models do not accurately reflect human skin wound healing.
• Porcine models are anatomically similar but often use healthy animals, not reflecting chronic wound conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate wound healing in diabetic versus non-diabetic Yucatan minipigs.
• To identify transcriptional differences in wounds relevant to human DFUs.
• To validate the Yucatan minipig as a preclinical model for DFU research.

Main Methods:

• Creation of full-thickness skin wounds in non-diabetic and diabetic Yucatan minipigs.
• RNA sequencing of wound tissues to analyze gene expression.
• Comparative analysis of transcriptional profiles between diabetic and non-diabetic wounds.

Main Results:

• Diabetic minipig wounds showed distinct transcriptional profiles compared to non-diabetic wounds.
• Key differences included upregulated inflammation and oxidative stress pathways.
• Downregulated pathways in diabetic wounds involved metabolism and extracellular matrix organization, mirroring human DFU hallmarks.

Conclusions:

• The Yucatan minipig model accurately recapitulates key molecular features of human diabetic foot ulcers.
• This model serves as a valuable platform for discovering new therapeutic targets and testing interventions for DFUs.
• The generated transcriptomic data provides a resource for identifying potential gene targets for DFU treatment.