Proliferative and chemotactic responses of cells involved in wound healing to anionic animal and plant polysaccharides

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of various polysaccharides and their breakdown products on the proliferation and migration of cells involved in wound healing, both in vitro and in vivo, with the ultimate aim of developing a commercially viable collagen dressing containing an active polysaccharide fragment which would stimulate the wound healing response to such a degree that good quality and significantly faster healing would take place. Hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitin sulphate (CS), heparin, Oxidised Regenerated Cellulose (ORC) and pectin were tested in this study. Some HA fragments and CS fragments significantly stimulated (p<O.05) the proliferation of Bovine Aortic Endothelial (BAEC) cells, although other HA or CS fragments were without effect. All HA and CS fragments tested also had no effect on the migration of L929 cells in the Boyden Chamber assay. Pectin stimulated the proliferation and migration of L929 cells, whereas, ORC 1 and heparin both suppressed proliferation (25% - 45% inhibition) of these cells but stimulated their migration. When injected subcutaneously into Polyvinyl alcohol sponges in the rat wound model at concentrations of 10 and 50J.1g/ml, heparin brought about an increased presence of granulation tissue in the wound after 10 days and 7 days respectively. These results indicate that structurally similar polysaccharides can have profoundly different effects on cell proliferation and migration, and thus have potential therapeutic use in guiding cell movement in wound healing.