title: Pearl extract enhances the migratory ability of fibroblasts in a wound healing model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  For 2000 years, traditional Chinese medicine has been used as a remedy for general health improvement, including the fight against aging. Pearl powder has recently been used as a health food that has antioxidant, antiaging, antiradioactive, and tonic activities for cells; it is also applied to cure aphthous ulcer, gastric ulcer, and duodenal ulcer on clinical therapy. In addition, the mother of pearl, nacre, could enhance the cell adhesion and tissue regeneration of skin fibroblasts.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Fibroblast is regarded as indispensable in the processes of wound healing. Therefore, the effect of pearl extract (PL) on fibroblasts is investigated in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  PL is produced by a room temperature super extraction system (Taiwan patent no. I271 220). DMEM medium containing PL (300 μg/mL) was used to examine the effect of migration-promoting potential on human fibroblast cell line or human primary fibroblast cells in a wound healing model in vitro.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Medium containing PL (300 μg/mL) demonstrated that the migratory cell numbers of fibroblasts were three times more than that without PL, and mRNA expression of collagen type III was higher than in collagen type I in fibroblasts. It revealed a migration-promoting potential of human fibroblasts in a wound healing model in vitro.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study found that the migration-promoting effect in PL, which could be a supplement in cell culture. These data suggest PL could be useful for enhancing the wound healing of fibroblasts.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine and College of Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yi-Chen
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chi-Ruei
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tai-Horng
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D024061:Collagen Type III / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D052816:Foreskin / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008419:Materia Medica / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D049876:Unionidae / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D024061:Collagen Type III; D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D008419:Materia Medica; D012333:RNA, Messenger