A comparison of the wound healing process after application of three dermal substitutes with or without basic fibroblast growth factor impregnation in diabetic mice

Summary Pelnac Gplus®, Integra® and Terudermis® are approved artificial dermis products in Japan. Previously, we proved that Pelnac Gplus® was able to sustain basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and accelerated wound healing by releasing impregnated bFGF. In this study, we impregnated Pelnac Gplus®, Integra® and Terudermis® with bFGF and compared the binding activity and wound healing process. We applied bFGF to each material and compared the bFGF concentrations in the surrounding area after 24-h incubation. For the in vivo study, dermal substitutes were impregnated with bFGF and implanted into full-thickness wounds of BKS.Cg-+Leprdb/+Leprdb/Jcl mice. Wounds were evaluated at days 7, 14 and 21 after implantation. The in vitro study showed that bFGF is strongly bound to Integra®, followed by Pelnac Gplus® and Terudermis®. The in vivo study showed that fibroblasts and capillaries had infiltrated into the Pelnac Gplus® but not the Integra® or Terudermis®. Furthermore, long epithelium and wide granulation tissue were formed in the Pelnac Gplus® with bFGF group. The Terudermis® with bFGF group had more capillaries than the other groups, but only at the base of the wound. The combination of Pelnac Gplus® with bFGF may be a novel approach for treating full-thickness skin defects or chronic skin ulcers.