Mitogenic whey extract stimulates wound repair activity in vitro and promotes healing of rat incisional wounds

• Published in: American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology integrative and comparative physiology, 2000-06, Vol.278 (6), p.1651-R1660
• Main Authors: Rayner, Timothy E, Cowin, Allison J, Robertson, J. Gray, Cooter, Rodney D, Harries, Richard C, Regester, Geoffrey O, Smithers, Geoffrey W, Goddard, Chris, Belford, David A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3T3 Cells; Animals; Cattle; Collagen - physiology; Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fetus - cytology; Gels; Humans; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Milk Proteins - pharmacology; Mitogens - pharmacology; Organ Culture Techniques; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Skin - cytology; Steroids - pharmacology; Wound Healing - drug effects
• ISSN: 0363-6119; 1522-1490
• DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.2000.278.6.R1651

1  Cooperative Research Centre for Tissue Growth and Repair, Child Health Research Institute, Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide 5006; 2  Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Adelaide, Department of Surgery, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville 5011; 4  Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Division of Human Nutrition, Adelaide BC 5000; and 3  Food Science Australia, Highett, Victoria 3190, Australia The ability of single growth factors to promote healing of normal and compromised wounds has been well described, but wound healing is a process requiring the coordinated action of multiple growth factors. Only the synergistic effect on wound healing of combinations containing at most two individual growth factors has been reported. We sought to assess the ability of a novel milk-derived growth factor-enriched preparation [mitogenic bovine whey extract (MBWE)], which contains six known growth factors, to promote repair processes in organotypic in vitro models and incisional wounds in vivo. MBWE stimulated the contraction of fibroblast-populated collagen lattices in a dose-dependent fashion and promoted the closure of excisional wounds in embryonic day 17  fetal rat skin. Application of MBWE increased incisional wound strength in normal animals on days 3, 5, 7 , and 10  and reversed the decrease in wound strength observed following steroid treatment. Wound histology showed increased fibroblast numbers in wounds from normal and steroid-compromised animals. These data suggest the mixture of factors present in bovine milk exerts a direct action on the cells of cutaneous wound repair to enhance both normal and compromised healing. growth factor; wound healing; skin; fetal wound healing; fibroblast-populated collagen lattice