Role of Microbial Protease in Mitigating Microbial Biofilm Development and Enhancing Effective Wound Repair

The breakdown of biofilm-associated barriers and necrotic tissue, along with proteases, aids in restoring the natural evolution of the wound healing stages. Moreover, some microbial-derived proteases exhibit immunomodulatory properties, stimulating cytokine production and angiogenesis, which are important for healing wounds and growing new tissue. This chapter investigates the contribution of microbial proteases in the breaking up of biofilms for the enhancement of healing wounds. Microbial proteases play a vital role in the breakdown of biofilms to facilitate healing of wounds, as observed among the molecular docking studies, illustrating the effectiveness of a metalloprotease in Paenibacillus polymyxa against the biofilm constituents of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Nevertheless, there should be an equilibrium between proteases and their inhibitors to prevent complications resulting from either excessive degradation or excessive deposition of extracellular matrix. Other developments, such as protease-modulating dressings, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) modulators, and signaling molecules, are promising in regulating protease action. Also, proteases are used as bifunctional agents in wound healing and immunological regulation by stimulating immune mediators to act on proteolytic activation of neural cells. The use of proteases combined with anti-biofilm peptides and antimicrobial agents is a new way of treating chronic wounds and improving the results of patients. We further talk about microbial proteases in therapeutic use, sophisticated delivery platforms, use of nanoformulations and hydrogels, combination therapy with antibiotics, and plant threats to improve disruption of biofilms and wound healing. Moreover, the chapter lists a thorough and effective description of microbial proteases in biofilm disruption and the contribution toward wound repair, giving the dual roles of microbial proteases in biofilm disruption and immunomodulation. It further discusses new delivery mechanisms and combination therapies that are revolutionizing the area of wound healing toward achieving better clinical results.