Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Aug 9:18:2767-2781.
doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S521095. eCollection 2025.

Advances in the Role of Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes in Diabetic Foot Wound Healing

Junbo Wang  1 , Yu-Jie Liang  2 , Xiaohua Pan  1
Affiliations
Review

Advances in the Role of Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes in Diabetic Foot Wound Healing

Junbo Wang et al. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. .

Abstract

Chronic hyperglycemia over a long period can lead to diabetes-related complications, of which diabetic foot ulcers continue to have a huge economic and social impact worldwide. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos) have demonstrated positive efficacy in the preclinical research and clinical trial phases of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) treatment. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the properties of MSC-derived exosomes and their biological functions, summarize the therapeutic efficacy of Exos in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and its mechanism of action, and discuss innovative technologies including hydrogel scaffolds and 3D bioprinting to enhance the effectiveness of MSC - Exos in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. This paper also explores the application of innovative technologies such as hydrogel scaffolds and 3D bioprinting in enhancing the efficacy of MSC-Exos in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and highlights the key challenges faced in translating these advanced technologies from the laboratory to the clinic.

Keywords: chronic wounds; diabetic foot ulcers; stem cell-derived exosomes; tissue engineering; translational research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis of exosomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Dilworth L, Stennett D, Facey A, et al. Diabetes and the associated complications: the role of antioxidants in diabetes therapy and care. Biomed Pharmacother. 2024;181:117641. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.117641 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ma J, Dong Y, Liu J, Gao S, Quan J. The role of GRB2 in diabetes, diabetes complications, and related disorders. Diabetes Obesity Metab. 2025;27:23–34. doi: 10.1111/dom.16015 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tomic D, Shaw JE, Magliano DJ. The burden and risks of emerging complications of diabetes mellitus. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2022;18:525–539. doi: 10.1038/s41574-022-00690-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McDermott K, Fang M, Boulton AJM, Selvin E, Hicks CW. Etiology, epidemiology, and disparities in the burden of diabetic foot ulcers. Diabetes Care. 2022;46:209–221. doi: 10.2337/dci22-0043 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tentolouris N, Edmonds ME, Jude EB, et al. Editorial: understanding diabetic foot disease: current status and emerging treatment approaches. Front Endocrinol. 2021;12:753181. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.753181 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources