Compositions, kits and methods for promoting diabetic wound healing are based on the discovery that SDF-1α specifically upregulates expression of E-selectin in mature endothelial cells (EC), leading to an increase in EC-endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) adhesion and EPC homing. Methods for promoting healing of a wound in a diabetic subject include providing a therapeutically effective amount of a composition including E-selectin protein or a nucleic acid encoding E-selectin protein, and optionally, an agent that specifically upregulates E-selectin expression (e.g., SDF-1α). The methods can also include administering hyperbaric oxygen treatment to the subject. Administering the composition to the subject results in migration of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells to the wound, accelerated wound healing, and upregulation of E-selectin expression in the subject.
