Hybrid Freeze-Dried Dressings Composed of Epidermal Growth Factor and Recombinant Human-Like Collagen Enhance Cutaneous Wound Healing in Rats

Abstract

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is important for promoting skin repair and remodeling. Native collagen is also widely used as a scaffold for skin tissue engineering. The limitations of EGF include easy decomposition or inactivation, whereas native collagen is immunogenic and has poor solubility. Therefore, we constructed a freeze-dried dressing based on the recombinant human-like collagen (RHC) to act as a carrier for EGF (RHC/EGF freeze-dried dressing) and promote skin wound closure. Here, the freezedried dressing that combined EGF and RHC significantly enhanced the proliferation, adhesion, and spreading of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and migration of HaCaT keratinocytes at the wound site. The physicochemical characteristics of the RHC/EGF freeze-dried dressing investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry revealed that it was a loose and porous cake that redissolved quickly. The molecular mechanisms involved in cell proliferation and angiogenesis were also assessed. The expression levels of the markers Ki-67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, vascular endothelial growth factor, and cluster of differentiation 31 were significantly increased after treatment with the RHC/EGF freeze-dried dressing (P < 0.01, vs. RHC or EGF alone). This increase indicated that the RHC/EGF freeze-dried dressing significantly accelerated wound closure, re-epithelialization, and the orderly arrangement and deposition of collagen in the Sprague-Dawley rats with full-thickness skin defects. This work describes a significant step toward the development of wound environments conducive to healing, and the RHC/EGF freeze-dried dressing is a potential therapeutic strategy in wound management.

Recombinant expression a novel fibronectin—collage fusion peptide modulating stem cell stemness via integrin β3

“…FN10 is a functional domain of FN that contains the RGD sequence. CC is a recombinant collagen-like protein, developed by our laboratory, that promotes the migration and adhesion of NIH/3T3 cells (Cheng et al 2020 ). In a full-thickness animal wound model, CC dressing significantly promotes wound healing and angiogenesis.…”

Cutaneous Wound Healing: An Update from Physiopathology to Current Therapies

“…Nanotechnologies have been used in dressings for growth factor incorporation, ameliorating growth factors bioavailability and stability. According experimental studies, EGF and FGF- incorporated dressings accelerate angiogenesis, extracellular matrix remodeling and re-epithelialization, with great potential in skin wound treatment [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 ].…”

Lyophilized Emulsions in the Form of 3D Porous Matrices as a Novel Material for Topical Application

“…These materials found many applications, particularly in medicine for tissue engineering due to the microenvironment they provide for the cells’ adsorption and proliferation or growth factors incorporation in order to improve regeneration of damaged tissues and organs [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. However, the porous structure of materials is also beneficial for wound healing—the dressing may be a breathable protective barrier that maintains the optimal microenvironment for the wound healing process, as well may constitute a micro-skeleton for the migrating cells involved in granulation and epithelialization [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Various biopolymers may be employed in the preparation of porous materials, such as collagen [ 9 , 10 ], gelatin [ 11 , 12 ], chitosan [ 13 ], fibroin [ 14 ], sodium alginate [ 15 ], pullulan [ 16 ] and cellulose [ 17 ].…”