title: Treating a collagen scaffold with a low concentration of nicotine promoted angiogenesis and wound healing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nicotine, one of the major pharmacologically active agents of cigarette smoke, has various effects on cell proliferation, and it has recently been reported to have angiogenic effects. In our previous study, we showed that the topical administration of nicotine at a low concentration accelerated wound healing. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of nicotine and synergistic effects of combination treatment with nicotine and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in a murine excisional wound model treated with artificial dermis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full-thickness defects (8 mm in diameter) were created on the backs of mice, and artificial dermis was sutured to the defects. Phosphate-buffered saline (10 μL), nicotine (10(-3), 10(-4), or 10(-5) M), bFGF (0.5 μg), and both bFGF and 10(-4) M nicotine were topically administered to the artificial dermal tissue for 7 d. The mice were killed on day 14, and the wound area, neoepithelium length, and area of newly formed capillaries in the artificial dermis were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The wound areas treated with 10(-4) M nicotine, bFGF, or bFGF plus 10(-4) M nicotine were significantly smaller than those in the control group. In these three groups, the neoepithelium in the bFGF plus 10(-4) M nicotine group was significantly longer than that in the other groups. There was no significant difference between the neoepithelium lengths of the control and 10(-5) M nicotine groups. The 10(-3) M nicotine group displayed the least re-epithelization among the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, 10(-4) M nicotine induced angiogenesis in, and accelerated the healing of, wounds treated with artificial dermis. bFGF and nicotine had synergistic effects, and the combined use of nicotine and bFGF is an effective wound healing method.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. drliempham@pnt.edu.vn
authors.forename: Pham Hieu
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Liem
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morimoto
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Shigehiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017768:Skin, Artificial; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D009538:Nicotine; D003094:Collagen