Abstract
Naturally occurring compounds isolated from the microalga Euglena gracilis, such as polysaccharide paramylon, exhibit antimicrobial, anti-viral, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities. Whether live E. gracilis cells and its aqueous extract accelerate burn wound healing remains to be investigated. In this study, live E. gracilis cells and its aqueous extract were mixed with chitosan-hyaluronic acid hydrogel (CS/HA) to form cell + CS/HA and extract + CS/HA, which were then smeared onto the deeply burned skin of mice. The efficacy of these mixtures in accelerating wound healing was assessed through wound size reduction measurement, histological and immunofluorescence analyses, and serum pro-inflammatory cytokine level (INF-γ, IL-1β, and IL-6) determination. The live E. gracilis cells and its aqueous extract were found to facilitate wound healing by enhancing re-epithelization and reducing fibroplasia without stimulating excessive inflammatory response. In conclusion, live E. gracilis cells and its aqueous extract can be potentially used to treat cutaneous wounds.
Highlights
Acute skin wounds affect individuals physically and mentally
Gross observations revealed an increase in size reduction of wounds treated with cell + chitosan-hyaluronic acid hydrogel (CS/HA) and extract + CS/HA compared with those treated with CS/HA at 14 days postwounding (Figure 1)
hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining showed that wounds treated with extract + CS/HA had significantly narrower scar length than those treated with cell + CS/HA and CS/HA (Figure 3B)
Summary
Acute skin wounds affect individuals physically and mentally. Millions of people worldwide are affected by poor wound healing after surgery, trauma, acute illness, or chronic disease conditions (Eming et al, 2014). The major goal of wound healing biology is to induce perfect reconstruction of damaged skin parts. Advances in microalgal therapeutics seem promising in promoting skin wound healing. A photoautotrophic cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942, accelerates wound healing by promoting angiogenesis (Yin et al, 2019). Euglena-derived polysaccharide paramylon has shown promising results in tissue repair therapy (Sugiyama et al, 2010; Shibakami et al, 2013; Shibakami et al, 2015). Paramylon film accelerated skin wound healing in an animal model through its immunosuppressive effect (Yasuda et al, 2018)
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