Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) is a member of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family (hence the alternative designation FGF-7). It is produced by stromal cells, but acts as a mitogen for epithelial cells. We examined the effects of topically applied KGF on healing of wounds in a porcine model. In partial-thickness wounds, KGF stimulated the rate of reepithelialization (p < 0.0002), associa...

Background: Untreated actinic keratosis can advance to squamous cell carcinoma, which in turn is associated with a risk of metastasis. Current treatments for actinic keratosis have many shortcomings. This communication describes the efficacy and safety of a topical cream therapy, Curaderm, containing solasodine glycosides (0.005%) for actinic keratosis. Methods: Randomly assigned patients with ...

The process of wound healing must be tightly regulated to achieve successful restoration of injured tissue. Previously, we demonstrated that when corneal epithelium is injured, nucleotides and neuronal factors are released to the extracellular milieu, generating a Ca(2+) wave from the origin of the wound to neighboring cells. In the present study we sought to determine how the communication bet...

Injury to the epidermis triggers an elaborate homeostatic response resulting in tissue repair and recovery of the vital barrier function. The type II keratins 6a and 6b (K6a and K6b) are among the genes induced early on in wound-proximal keratinocytes and maintained during reepithelialization. Paradoxically, genetic ablation of K6a and K6b results in enhanced keratinocyte migration. In this pap...

The replicative lifespan of human keratinocytes in culture is restricted by a telomere-unrelated induction of p16INK4A (p16) and p14ARF. We have found that, in vivo, p16 is expressed by epidermal and oral keratinocytes at the migrating fronts of healing wounds and at the stromal interface of severely dysplastic and early invasive lesions and that such cells also invariably display increased exp...

The PHSRN sequence of the plasma fibronectin (pFn) cell-binding domain induces human keratinocytes and fibroblasts to invade the naturally serum-free extracellular matrices of sea urchin embryos. The potency of acetylated, amidated PHSRN (Ac-PHSRN-NH(2)) is significantly increased, making it more active on a molar basis than the 120-kDa cell-binding domain of pFn. Arginine is important to this ...

Because light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are low-coherent, quasimonochromatic, and nonthermal, they are an alternative for low level laser therapy, and have photobiostimulative effects on tissue repair. However, the molecular mechanism(s) are unclear, and potential effects of blue and/or green LEDs on wound healing are still unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of red (638 nm), blue (456 nm),...

OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that adipose tissue may contain progenitors cells with cutaneous and angiogenic potential. METHODS AND RESULTS Adipose tissue-derived stroma cells (ADSCs) were administrated to skin punched wounds of both nonirradiated and irradiated mice (20 Gy, locally). At day 14, ADSCs promoted dermal wound healing and enhanced wound closure, viscolesticity, and collagen tissue s...

OBJECTIVE To test the effects of a continuous medium flow inside DegraPol scaffolds on the reepithelialization and revascularization processes of a tissue-engineered trachea prosthesis. METHODS In this proof-of-principle study a continuous medium flow was maintained within a tubular DegraPol scaffold by an inserted porous catheter connected to a pump system. The impact of the intra-scaffold m...

Wound-healing represents a major health burden, such as diabetes-induced skin ulcers and burning. Many works are being tried to find ideal clinical wound-healing biomaterials. Especially, small molecules with low cost and function to promote production of endogenous wound healing agents (i.e. transforming growth factor beta, TGF-β) are excellent candidates. In this study, a small peptide (tiger...