Effect of growth factors on cell proliferation
and epithelialization in human skin.
Bhora FY, Dunkin BJ, Batzri S, Aly HM, Bass BL, Sidawy AN, Harmon
JW.
Department of
Surgery, VA Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20422, USA.
The failure of
chronic wounds to heal remains a major medical problem. Recent studies
have suggested an important role for growth factors in promoting wound
healing. We investigated the mitogenic effect of basic fibroblast
growth factor (FGF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and epidermal
growth factor (EGF), comparing their effects with those of media alone
(MEM) in a human skin explant model. A stable organ culture system
for maintaining the histologic structure of human epidermis for 10
days in vitro was developed. DNA synthesis was measured on Days 1,
3, and 7 of organ culture using [3H]thymidine ([3H]thy) uptake and
expressed as cpm/mg dry weight (mean +/- SEM). FGF, IGF-1, and EGF
were each capable of stimulating [3H]thy uptake on Day 1 of culture
(2372 +/- 335 FGF, 2226 +/- 193 IGF-1, 4037 +/- 679 EGF vs 1108 +/-
70 MEM, P < 0.05). IGF-1 and EGF also stimulated [3H]thy uptake
on Days 3 and 7 of culture. The organ culture system was further employed
to observe epidermal outgrowth. Longest keratinocyte outgrowth from
the explant periphery (simulating epithelial regeneration from the
wound edge) was observed on Day 7. EGF resulted in maximum stimulation
of epithelial outgrowth (440 +/- 80 microns), followed by FGF (330
+/- 56 microns), IGF-1 (294 +/- 48 microns), and MEM (189 +/- 50 microns).
We postulate, therefore, that FGF, IGF-1, and EGF are important mitogens
for wound healing and that EGF in particular is capable of stimulating
epithelialization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PMID: 7543631
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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