title: β-lapachone accelerates the recovery of burn-wound skin.
abstract: β-lapachone is a quinone of lapachol extracted from the bark of lapacho tree. Recent findings demonstrated that punched skin wounds of mice healed faster with β-lapachone treatment. The present study investigates the effects of β-lapachone on burn-wound skin of C57BL/6 mice injured by a 100 °C iron stick. Our results indicated that wounds treated with β-lapachone recovered faster than those treated with control ointment containing no β-lapachone. On the third day after burning, the area of β-lapachone treated-wound was 30% smaller than wound treated with control ointment. H&E and immunohistochemistry staining showed that burn-wound skin treated with ointment containing β-lapachone healed faster in its epidermis, dermis, and underlying connective tissues with more macrophages appeared than those treated with control ointment alone. RAW264.7 cell, a macrophage-like cell line derived from BALB/C mice, was used as a model for scrutinizing the effect of β-lapachone on macrophages. We found that the proliferation and the secretion of EGF and VEGF by macrophages were higher in cultures treated with β-lapachone and that ß-lapachone can also increase the release of EGF with TNF-α pretreatment. We conclude that β-lapachone plays an important role in accelerating burn wound healing, and that β-lapachone not only can raise the proliferation of macrophages but also increase the release of VEGF from macrophages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Chen
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Yat-Pang
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: Kuo-Shyan
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hsiu-Ni
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Kung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009824:Ointments; D010577:Petrolatum; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D009285:Naphthoquinones; D009824:Ointments; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C467480:vascular endothelial growth factor A, mouse; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; C014638:beta-lapachone; D010577:Petrolatum