4-aminopyridine promotes accelerated skin wound healing via neurogenic-mediator expression

Abstract

The discovery of ways to enhance skin wound healing is of great importance due to the frequency of these lesions. We discovered that 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), a potassium channel blocker, greatly enhances skin wound healing. Benefits include faster wound closure, restoration of normal-appearing skin architecture and epidermal thickness, increased vascularization and increases in K14+ keratinocytes. Hair follicle number was increased, both histologically and by analysis of K15 and K17 expression. Levels of vimentin (which marks fibroblasts) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA, which marks collagen-producing myofibroblasts) increased, as did α-SMA+ cell numbers. 4-AP also increased numbers of axons and S-100+ Schwann cells, and increased expression of p75-NTR and SOX10. Treatment also increased levels of nerve growth factor, transforming growth factor-β, Substance P and PGP9.5, important modulators of wound healing. As 4-AP is already used for treatment of multiple sclerosis and other chronic neurological syndromes, it has strong potential for rapid translational development.