Toll-Like Receptors in Wound Healing: Location, Accessibility, and Timing

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are considered to be the first responders in the defense against invading pathogens. TLR engagement by ligands triggers inflammatory responses in injury and trauma, and thus can impair or contribute to the healing process, depending on TLRs' expression pattern, cellular localization, signaling, and deployment of inflammatory responses. Understanding these attributes could improve therapeutic strategies for treating chronic wounds

Elephantiasis nostras verrucosa: an atypical presentation following intrapelvic lymphoma

Elephantiasis nostras verrucosa is a progressively debilitating and disfiguring disease commonly presenting with verrucous, cobblestone-like papules, nodules, or plaques with nonpitting edema in the lower extremities. Histopathology is marked by hyperkeratosis and dermal or subcutaneous fibrosis as a result of chronic lymphedema. Risk factors include obesity, recurrent cellulitis, chronic venous insufficiency, congestive heart failure, scleroderma, radiation, trauma, and tumors. We report a 72-year-old man who presented to the dermatology clinic for an 11-year history of edematous legs, occasionally associated with ulcerations. The findings developed within a year of intrapelvic non-Hodgkin lymphoma and progressed gradually over 10 years after lymphoma remission. Physical examination revealed atypical features including compressible cysts and pitting edema extending from the lower legs to the thighs bilaterally. The patient was noncompliant for the recommended compressive devices and the condition progressively worsened over the course of 7 months of follow-up. Early interdisciplinary management using compressive devices and a lymphatic pump are recommended. Underlying causative factors should be assessed with regular follow-up to optimize treatment outcomes

Resveratrol Prevents High Fluence Red Light-Emitting Diode Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Photoinhibition of Human Skin Fibroblast Migration.

BackgroundSkin fibrosis is a significant medical problem that leads to a functional, aesthetic, and psychosocial impact on quality-of-life. Light-emitting diode-generated 633-nm red light (LED-RL) is part of the visible light spectrum that is not known to cause DNA damage and is considered a safe, non-invasive, inexpensive, and portable potential alternative to ultraviolet phototherapy that may change the treatment paradigm of fibrotic skin disease.ObjectiveThe goal of our study was to investigate the how reactive oxygen species (ROS) free radicals generated by high fluence LED-RL inhibit the migration of skin fibroblasts, the main cell type involved in skin fibrosis. Fibroblast migration speed is increased in skin fibrosis, and we studied cellular migration speed of cultured human skin fibroblasts as a surrogate measure of high fluence LED-RL effect on fibroblast function. To ascertain the inhibitory role of LED-RL generated ROS on migration speed, we hypothesized that resveratrol, a potent antioxidant, could prevent the photoinhibitory effects of high fluence LED-RL on fibroblast migration speed.MethodsHigh fluence LED-RL generated ROS were measured by flow cytometry analysis using dihydrorhodamine (DHR). For purposes of comparison, we assessed the effects of ROS generated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on fibroblast migration speed and the ability of resveratrol, a well known antioxidant, to prevent LED-RL and H2O2 generated ROS-associated changes in fibroblast migration speed. To determine whether resveratrol could prevent the high fluence LED-RL ROS-mediated photoinhibition of human skin fibroblast migration, treated cells were incubated with resveratrol at concentrations of 0.0001% and 0.001% for 24 hours, irradiated with high fluences LED-RL of 480, 640, and 800 J/cm2.ResultsHigh fluence LED-RL increases intracellular fibroblast ROS and decreases fibroblast migration speed. LED-RL at 480, 640 and 800 J/cm2 increased ROS levels to 132.8%, 151.0%, and 158.4% relative to matched controls, respectively. These LED-RL associated increases in ROS were prevented by pretreating cells with 0.0001% or 0.001% resveratrol. Next, we quantified the effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-associated ROS on fibroblast migration speed, and found that while H2O2-associated ROS significantly decreased relative fibroblast migration speed, pretreatment with 0.0001% or 0.001% resveratrol significantly prevented the decreases in migration speed. Furthermore, we found that LED-RL at 480, 640 and 800 J/cm2 decreased fibroblast migration speed to 83.0%, 74.4%, and 68.6% relative to matched controls, respectively. We hypothesized that these decreases in fibroblast migration speed were due to associated increases in ROS generation. Pretreatment with 0.0001% and 0.001% resveratrol prevented the LED-RL associated decreases in migration speed.ConclusionHigh fluence LED-RL increases ROS and is associated with decreased fibroblast migration speed. We provide mechanistic support that the decreased migration speed associated with high fluence LED-RL is mediated by ROS, by demonstrating that resveratrol prevents high fluence LED-RL associated migration speed change. These data lend support to an increasing scientific body of evidence that high fluence LED-RL has anti-fibrotic properties. We hypothesize that our findings may result in a greater understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying visible light interaction with skin and we anticipate clinicians and other researchers may utilize these pathways for patient benefit

A Concise Review of the Conflicting Roles of Dopamine-1 versus Dopamine-2 Receptors in Wound Healing.

Catecholamines play an important regulatory role in cutaneous wound healing. The exact role of dopamine in human epidermis has yet to be fully elucidated. Current published evidence describes its differential effects on two separate families of G protein coupled receptors: D1-like and D2-like dopamine receptors. Dopamine may enhance angiogenesis and wound healing through its action on dopamine D1 receptors, while impairing wound healing when activating D2 receptors. This review summarizes the evidence for the role of dopamine in wound healing and describes potential mechanisms behind its action on D1 versus D2-like receptors in the skin

β-Adrenergic Receptor Activation Inhibits Keratinocyte Migration via a Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate-independent Mechanism

There is increasing evidence that G-protein-coupled receptors cross-talk with growth factor receptor-mediated signal transduction in a variety of cell types. We have investigated mechanisms by which the activation of β-adrenergic receptors, classically GTP-binding proteins coupled receptors, influence the migration of cultured human keratinocytes. We found that iso-proterenol, a β-adrenergic receptor-selective agonist, inhibited cell migration stimulated by either epidermal growth factor, or extracellular Ca2+ in a concentration-dependent manner. This was prevented by pretreatment of the cells with the β-adrenergic receptor-selective antagonist timolol. Interestingly, isoproterenol, at a concentration of 1 nM, did not measurably increase intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentrations yet inhibited cell migration by 50%. To test further if isoproterenol's actions were mediated via activation of adenylyl cyclase, two inhibitors of its activity, 2′5′-dideoxyadenosine and SQ22536, were used. Both compounds significantly diminished iso-proterenol-induced increases in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentrations but did not attenuate isoproterenol-induced inhibition of cell migration. Also, forskolin (1 μM) markedly increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentrations but did not significantly inhibit cell migration. As mitogen-activated protein kinases are known to signal growth factor-stimulated cell migration, we examined whether β-adrenergic receptor-mediated inhibition of keratinocyte migration might occur via inactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinases. We found that isoproterenol inhibited phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase in a concentration-dependent manner but had no effect on the phosphorylation of the stress mitogen-activated protein kinases c-jun N-terminal kinase and stress-activated protein kinase-2. Neither forskolin nor a membrane permeable cyclic adenosine monophosphate analog inhibited phosphorylation of any of these mitogen-activated protein kinases. These findings suggest that β-adrenergic receptor-induced inhibition of keratinocyte migration is mediated through inhibition of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in a cyclic adenosine monophosphate-independent manner

Plasminogen Activator in Differentiating Mouse Keratinocytes

The activity of the serine protease plasminogen activator (PA) was measured in cell lysates from primary mouse keratinocyte cultures as well as from a number of established mouse keratinocyte lines. Enzyme activity was generally higher in the transformed lines than in the primary cultures; however, among the lines tested, those that expressed the highest degree of morphologic differentiation had the highest levels of cell-associated PA. In both the normal (primary) and transformed (established) keratinocyte cultures, PA activity increased when cultures reached confluence and morphologic evidence of differentiation was noted. The highest specific activity of the enzyme was found in cells shed from differentiating cultures, which consisted predominantly of detergent-resistant cornified envelopes. As the cultures differentiated and these cells were shed from the culture surface, the total cell-associated PA activity of the culture decreased accordingly. In both the normal and transformed keratinocyte cultures, peak PA activity occurred at a time when DNA synthesis was declining. These findings indicate that as keratinocytes differentiate, their intracellular levels of PA increase. The modulation of this endogenous keratinocyte enzyme may play an important, although as yet undefined, role in the normal maturation and terminal differentiation of these cells

Deferoxamine: potential novel topical therapeutic for chronic wounds

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136734/1/bjd14956.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136734/2/bjd14956_am.pd

A single-blind, dose escalation, phase I study of high-fluence light-emitting diode-red light (LED-RL) on human skin: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

SPIRIT checklist. (PDF 502 kb

A dose-ranging, parallel group, split-face, single-blind phase II study of light emitting diode-red light (LED-RL) for skin scarring prevention: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundSkin fibrosis is a significant global health problem that affects over 100 million people annually and has a profoundly negative impact on quality of life. Characterized by excessive fibroblast proliferation and collagen deposition, skin fibrosis underlies a wide spectrum of dermatologic conditions ranging from pathologic scars secondary to injury (e.g., burns, surgery, trauma) to immune-mediated diseases. Effective anti-scarring therapeutics remain an unmet need, underscoring the importance of developing novel approaches to treat and prevent skin fibrosis. Our in vitro data show that light emitting diode-red light (LED-RL) can modulate key cellular and molecular processes involved in skin fibrosis. In two phase I clinical trials (STARS 1 and STARS 2), we demonstrated the safety and tolerability of LED-RL at fluences of 160 J/cm2 up to 480 J/cm2 on normal human skin.Methods/designCURES (Cutaneous Understanding of Red-light Efficacy on Scarring) is a dose-ranging, randomized, parallel group, split-face, single-blind, mock-controlled phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of LED-RL to limit post-surgical skin fibrosis in subjects undergoing elective mini-facelift surgery. Thirty subjects will be randomly allocated to three treatment groups to receive LED-RL phototherapy or temperature-matched mock irradiation (control) to either periauricular incision site at fluences of 160 J/cm2, 320 J/cm2, or 480 J/cm2. Starting one week post-surgery (postoperative days 4-8), treatments will be administered three times weekly for three consecutive weeks, followed by efficacy assessments at 30 days, 3 months, and 6 months. The primary endpoint is the difference in scar pliability between LED-RL-treated and control sites as determined by skin elasticity and induration measurements. Secondary outcomes include clinical and photographic evaluations of scars, 3D skin imaging analysis, histological and molecular analyses, and adverse events.DiscussionLED-RL is a therapeutic modality of increasing importance in dermatology, and has the potential to limit skin fibrosis clinically by decreasing dermal fibroblast activity and collagen production. The administration of LED-RL phototherapy in the early postoperative period may optimize wound healing and prevent excessive scarring. The results from this study may change the current treatment paradigm for fibrotic skin diseases and help to pioneer LED-RL as a safe, non-invasive, cost-effective, portable, at-home therapy for scars.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03795116 . Registered on 20 December 2018

Power-line frequency electromagnetic fields do not induce changes in phosphorylation, localization, or expression of the 27-kilodalton heat shock protein in human keratinocytes.

The linkage of the exposure to the power-line frequency (50-60 Hz) electromagnetic fields (EMF) with human cancers remains controversial after more than 10 years of study. The in vitro studies on the adverse effects of EMF on human cells have not yielded a clear conclusion. In this study, we investigated whether power-line frequency EMF could act as an environmental insult to invoke stress responses in human keratinocytes using the 27-kDa heat shock protein (HSP27) as a stress marker. After exposure to 1 gauss (100 micro T) EMF from 20 min to 24 hr, the isoform pattern of HSP27 in keratinocytes remained unchanged, suggesting that EMF did not induce the phosphorylation of this stress protein. EMF exposure also failed to induce the translocation of HSP27 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Moreover, EMF exposure did not increase the abundance of HSP27 in keratinocytes. In addition, we found no evidence that EMF exposure enhanced the level of the 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) in breast or leukemia cells as reported previously. Therefore, in this study we did not detect any of a number of stress responses in human keratinocytes exposed to power-line frequency EMF