Figure 6. Treatment with CCL3 stimulates healing in infected diabetic wounds.

(a–d) db/db wounds were either treated with PBS or CCL3 and infected with PA103 (1000 CFU). Wound healing was assessed at indicated timepoints by digital photography (a–b) or by H&E histological analysis of re-epithelialization (c–d). Representative images are shown in (a & c). (Black scale bar = 1 mm, and the wound gap is shown by dotted line). The corresponding data for (a & c) are shown in (b & d) as the Mean ± SEM. (e–f) Day 10 db/db wounds (treated with either PBS or CCL3 and infected with PA103) were assessed for fibroblast, myofibroblast, elastin, and cartilage healing markers by vimentin, α-SMA, Masson’s Trichrome, and elastin staining, respectively. (e) Representative regions from underneath the wounds extending in the dermis are shown at ×400 magnification. (Red scale bar = 50 µm. For the corresponding full wound images at ×40 magnification, see Figure 6—figure supplement 1). (f) The corresponding data are plotted as the Mean ± SEM. (N = 4 mice/group for (a–b); and N = 4 mice/group for (c–f). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Statistical analyses between groups were conducted by One-way ANOVA with additional post hoc testing, and pair-wise comparisons between groups were performed or by unpaired Student’s t-test).

Figure 6—figure supplement 1. Full wound images associated with Figure 6e.

db/db animals were wounded and treated with either CCL3 or PBS prior to infection with PA103 (10³ CFU). Ten days after treatment and infection (Day 10), wound tissues were harvested and assessed for fibroblast, myofibroblast, elastin, and cartilage healing markers by vimentin, α-SMA, Masson’s Trichrome, and elastin staining, respectively. Representative ×40 magnification images of the full wounds are shown, and the high-magnification images and the tabulated data are presented in Figure 6e–f. (Black scale bar = 500 µm. Inserted rectangles show the cropped regions represented in Figure 6e).