Scar-Free Healing of Wounds Resulting Commonly from Domestic Accidents

Abstract

Scalds and cuts are common causes of childhood injuries at home. Although the impairments are often non-fatal, timely and effective treatments for them may not only help prevent infections, but also facilitate faster recovery from the injuries and scarless wound healing. Skin growth factors including the 53-amino acid human epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the 146-amino acid human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) have been shown to play important physiological functions in promoting the growth and regeneration of our skin cells. Moreover, they have been employed individually to enhance the healing process of various types of wound. The specific bioactivities exhibited by EGF and bFGF in the epidermal and dermal layers, respectively, strongly support the notion that they may function cooperatively in wound healing. In this communication, making use of our own recombinant EGF (rEGF) and bFGF (rbFGF) products, which share the same primary structures with their native counterparts, we present research findings to demonstrate that rEGF and rbFGF work collaboratively to promote healing of various types of wound, including scalds, punctures and lacerations. More importantly, despite the severity of the injuries, subsequent to their treatments with rEGF and rbFGF, the healed wounds were virtually scar-free and devoid of the formation of an outgrowth scar, a keloid scar.