title: Potential implications of interleukin-7 in chronic wound healing.
abstract: Methods of identifying chronic wounds that will heal in a timely, coordinated fashion and those that will not, together with novel therapeutic strategies, are vital for progression in the field of wound healing. Interleukin (IL)-7 has been associated with various biological and pathological processes. The present study explored the potential role of IL-7 in wound healing. IL-7 expression levels were examined in a clinical cohort of chronic wounds using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining analysis. The impact of recombinant human IL-7 (rhIL-7) on the growth and migrational rates of HaCaT keratinocyte cells was subsequently examined usingin vitrogrowth and electric cell-substrate impedance sensing functional assays. The mRNA expression levels of IL-7 were increased in the healed chronic wound tissue samples, compared with non-healed chronic wound tissue samples, although the difference was not statistically significant. Similarly, immunohistochemical analysis revealed a greater staining intensity of IL-7 in the healed chronic wound tissue sections compared with the non-healed tissue sections. Treatment with rhIL-7 did not affect HaCaT cell growth rates, but was shown to enhance cell migration, an effect that could be further enhanced through the addition of inhibitors of neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein and protein kinase B. The data of the present study suggest that the expression levels of IL-7 may be increased in healing chronic wounds, and thus IL-7 may have a role in this process, potentially through its effects on the cellular migration of keratinocytes.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff China Medical Research Collaborative (CCMRC), Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK; Department of Wound Healing, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK.
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.affiliation: Cardiff China Medical Research Collaborative (CCMRC), Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Cardiff China Medical Research Collaborative (CCMRC), Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK; Department of Wound Healing, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ruge
authors.affiliation: Department of Wound Healing, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK.
authors.forename: Keith G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: Cardiff China Medical Research Collaborative (CCMRC), Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK.
authors.forename: Wen G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: chronic wounds; interleukin-7; keratinocyte; migration; wound healing