title: Thymosin beta4 accelerates wound healing.
abstract: Angiogenesis is an essential step in the repair process that occurs after injury. In this study, we investigated whether the angiogenic thymic peptide thymosin beta4 (Tbeta4) enhanced wound healing in a rat full thickness wound model. Addition of Tbeta4 topically or intraperitoneally increased reepithelialization by 42% over saline controls at 4 d and by as much as 61% at 7 d post-wounding. Treated wounds also contracted at least 11% more than controls by day 7. Increased collagen deposition and angiogenesis were observed in the treated wounds. We also found that Tbeta4 stimulated keratinocyte migration in the Boyden chamber assay. After 4-5 h, migration was stimulated 2-3-fold over migration with medium alone when as little as 10 pg of Tbeta4 was added to the assay. These results suggest that Tbeta4 is a potent wound healing factor with multiple activities that may be useful in the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Craniofacial Developmental Biology and Regeneration Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4370, USA.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Malinda
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Sidhu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mani
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Banaudha
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Maheshwari
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kleinman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013947:Thymosin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*; D000099201:Thymosin beta(4)
chemical_list: D013947:Thymosin; D000099201:Thymosin beta(4)