Abstract
Auricularia auricula-judae, a nutrient-rich mushroom used in traditional medicine, is a macrofungi that exhibits various biological properties. In this study, we have reported on the mechanisms that promote the wound-healing effects of a water-soluble polysaccharide-rich extract obtained from A. auricula-judae (AAP). AAP contained high amounts of polysaccharides (349.83 ± 5.00 mg/g extract) with a molecular weight of 158 kDa. The main sugar composition of AAP includes mannose, galactose, and glucose. AAP displayed antioxidant activity in vitro and was able to abort UVB-induced intracellular ROS production in human fibroblasts in cellulo. AAP significantly promoted both fibroblast and keratinocyte proliferation, migration, and invasion, along with augmentation of the wound-healing process by increasing collagen synthesis and decreasing E-cadherin expression (All p < 0.05). Specifically, the AAP significantly accelerated the wound closure in a mice skin wound-healing model on day 9 (2.5%AAP, p = 0.031 vs. control) and day 12 (1% and 2.5%AAP with p = 0.009 and p < 0.001 vs. control, respectively). Overall, our results indicate that the wound-healing activities of AAP can be applied in an AAP-based product for wound management.
Highlights
The wound-healing process is a complex sequence of cellular and molecular processes that consist of inflammation, new tissue formation, and tissue remodeling [1,2]
The results of our study indicate that auricula-judae polysaccharide-rich extract (AAP) accelerates the wound-healing process through the promotion of fibroblast and keratinocyte proliferation, migration, and invasion, and the enhancement of collagen synthesis that occurs during the proliferation step of the wound repair process
As was consistent with our study, other medicinal mushroom and plant-based extracts have been verified for wound-healing properties with those targeting various mechanisms, including epithelial and dermal cells stimulation, reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and modulation of inflammatory intermediates [25,26]
Summary
The wound-healing process is a complex sequence of cellular and molecular processes that consist of inflammation, new tissue formation, and tissue remodeling [1,2]. On approximately the 4th day after wounding, the proliferation phase begins. This process is characterized by the involvement of the cells embedded in the skin layers including specialized fibroblasts, which secrete a collagen framework onto the dermal skin layer in order to facilitate dermal regeneration. At the epidermal layer, keratinocytes are the cells responsible for epithelialization of the stratum corneum at skin layer resulting in the epidermal regeneration and the wound contraction. The remodeling step involves the remodeling and realignment of the collagen tissue. This step is essential in establishing the greater tensile strength of the skin [4,5]
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