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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Nov 15, 2025; 16(11): 110428
Published online Nov 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i11.110428
Published online Nov 15, 2025. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v16.i11.110428
Diabetic neuropathy and wound healing: An update on epigenetic crosstalk
Kamaldeen Olalekan Sanusi, Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin 240244, Nigeria
Jerome Ndudi Asiwe, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka 330105, Nigeria
Fatimo Ajoke Sulaimon, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin 240003, Nigeria
Farida Bashar, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemical and Life Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto 840001, Nigeria
Suleiman Kolawole Yusuf, Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin, Ilorin 240003, Nigeria
Hawau Olaide Abdulkadir, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin 240003, Nigeria
Author contributions: Sanusi KO participated in the conception of the study; Sanusi KO, Asiwe JN, Sulaimon FA, Bashar F, Yusuf SK, and Abdulkadir HO wrote the original draft of the manuscript; All authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kamaldeen Olalekan Sanusi, PhD, Head, Lecturer, Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Al-Hikmah University, Adewole Estate, Adeta Road, Kwara State, P.M.B. 1601, Ilorin 240244, Nigeria. sanusikamaldeen@yahoo.com
Received: June 6, 2025
Revised: August 2, 2025
Accepted: September 26, 2025
Published online: November 15, 2025
Processing time: 161 Days and 10.2 Hours
Revised: August 2, 2025
Accepted: September 26, 2025
Published online: November 15, 2025
Processing time: 161 Days and 10.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Diabetic neuropathy and impaired wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers are significant complications of diabetes. They are driven by complex molecular mechanisms involving epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs. These epigenetic alterations contribute to inflammatory responses, neuronal degeneration, and disrupted tissue repair, with "metabolic memory" causing long-lasting molecular imprints even after blood glucose normalization. This emerging understanding of the epigenetic interplay provides a comprehensive framework for disease development and opens new avenues for targeted therapies and biomarkers to improve clinical outcomes beyond traditional glucose-centric views.