Beneficial effect of cod-derived polypeptides (CDPs) on wound healing in a rat model of skin incisions

Objective To investigate the wound-healing process in a rat model of skin full-thickness incisions and to detect related possible mechanism. Methods Twenty-four female rats were selected and the dorsal skin of rats was used as the experimental area. A cutaneous excision (6 mm diameter) was made on the back of each animal, close to the cervical area. The dorsal skin of every rat was allocated to three groups which were treated with physiological saline, human recombinant epidermal growth factor (rhEGF), and CDPs, respectively. After making a rat model of skin incisions, we observed the wound healing process, took photos of the wounds under a digital microscope, and use sulfuric graph paper to record the size of every wound. At the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th day after modeling, 6 rats were killed, and mRNA expression of K10, K14, and EGF was detected in the skin tissues using a RT-PCR technique. Results At the 6th and 12th day after modeling, there were significant differences between the experimental group and the blank control group (P<0.05). The gene expression of EGF, K-14 in the third day and that of EGF, K-10 and K-14 in the 6th and 12th day were up-regulated compared with control group, and there were significant differences between them (P<0.05). Conclusions CDPs have a beneficial effect on the acceleration of skin wound healing, possibly due to increasing keratinocyte proliferation and up-regulating the expression of K10, K14 and EGF genes. Key words: Keratin-10; Keratin-14; Epidermal growth factor; Cod-derived polypeptides; Wound healing