Chronic wounds are recognized as a silent epidemic that affects a large fraction of the world’s population. Despite years of intense research, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the onset and perpetuation of impaired healing of chronic wounds are still only partially understood.

Clinical data generally show that the longer a wound persists the less likely it is to heal. Thus, multiple hypotheses have been raised to decode the molecular and cellular environments of wounds chronification.

To further advance the understanding of the pathology of chronic wounds, especially diabetic foot ulcers, and enhance translation of this basic knowledge into improved clinical care, the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology will publish a special issue that is broadly focused on wound healing and tissue repair. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Epidemiology of chronic wounds and diabetic foot ulcers
• Molecular toxicity of hyperglycemia or high glucose concentration on cutaneous cells (AGE/RAGE system): fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and keratinocytes
• Molecular linkage between glucose toxicity and arrest of fibroblasts and keratinocytes
• Diabetes, mitochondrial activity, and cutaneous cells aging and/or arrest
• Signaling and networking of PI3kinae, Akt, mTOR, and cells proliferation in chronic wounds
• Mechanisms of cells aging and apoptosis in chronic wounds
• Animal models of chronic wounds
• Molecular markers of wound chronicity or predictors for wound healing
• Rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests for biomarkers of impaired wound healing
• Roles of biofilms in wound failure
• Molecular bases of reepithelialization failure
• Modern clinical approaches to treatment of chronic wounds
• Pharmacological interventions to modulate inflammation and proteolysis in diabetic, pressure ulcers, and other chronic wounds
• Perspectives for growth factors and other soluble messengers, clinical trials
• Advances in negative pressure wound treatment (NPWT)
• Advances in natural and synthetic acellular matrix dressings
• Advances in hyperbaric oxygen and topical NO treatments
• Autologous and allogenic stem cells in chronic wound healing - clinical trials and laboratory research

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jbb/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: