title: The effects of acacia honey on in vitro corneal abrasion wound healing model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acacia honey (AH) has been proven to improve skin wound healing, but its therapeutic effects on corneal epithelium has not been elucidated to date. This study aimed to investigate the effects of AH on cultured corneal epithelial cells (CEC) on in vitro corneal abrasion wound healing model. Six New Zealand white rabbits' CEC were isolated and cultured until passage 1. Circular wound area was created onto a confluent monolayer CEC using a corneal trephine which mimicked corneal abrasion and treated with 0.025% AH supplemented in basal medium (BM) and complete cornea medium (CCM). Wound healing was measured as the percentage of wound closure by the migration of CEC on day 0, day 3 and day 6, post wound creation. The morphological changes of CEC were assessed via phase contrast microscopy. Gene and protein expressions of cytokeratin (CK3), fibronectin and cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) in AH treated groups and control groups were determined by real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cultured CEC exhibited similar morphology of polygonal shaped cells in all culture media. CEC cultured in AH-supplemented media showed higher percentage of wound closure compared to the controls. Gene expression of CK3 increased in AH-supplemented groups throughout the study. Fibronectin expression was increased at the initial stage while CD44 expression was increased at day 3, post wound creation. The protein expression of CEC cultured in all media was in accordance to their respective gene expressions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Supplementation of AH in BM and CCM media accelerates CEC wound closure of the in vitro corneal abrasion model by increasing the expression of genes and proteins associated with CEC wound healing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Level 18, Pre-Clinical Block, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. celine_kerwoon@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Choy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ker-Woon
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Level 18, Pre-Clinical Block, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. norzanafi9506@yahoo.com.|UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. norzanafi9506@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Norzana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abd Ghafar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ckienhui@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Chua Kien
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. rahmatyasmin@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Yasmin Anum
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Mohd Yusof
authors.affiliation: UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute (UMBI), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. wwanzurinah@yahoo.com.|Department of Biochemistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. wwanzurinah@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Wan Zurinah
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Wan Ngah
mesh_terms: D000045:Acacia / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003315:Cornea / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D065306:Corneal Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006722:Honey; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053558:Keratin-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011817:Rabbits; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D005353:Fibronectins; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D053558:Keratin-3