Topical application of ALK5 inhibitor A-83-01 reduces burn wound contraction in rats by suppressing myofibroblast population

Expression of the Discoidin Domain Receptor Family Depended on Glucose and Their High Expression in Arterial Tissues in the Rat Model of Type 2 Diabetes

The active form of discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) is expressed in cell surface and regulated post-translationally by glucose. The DDR2 and DDR1 transfected in HEK293 cells were expressed mainly in their active forms with sizes of 130 and 120 kDa, respectively. DDRs were observed predominantly as 100 kDa proteins in glucose-depleted culture conditions. However, transfection of endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) in HEK293 cells resulted in the expression of only one form regardless of glucose concentration. Vascular smooth muscle cells, HT1080s, and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells expressed DDRs in their active forms in high glucose concentrations, which did not occur with EGFR. In diabetic rats, DDRs were expressed at high levels in arterial tissue but EGFR was not highly expressed. Taken together, these results suggest that DDRs expression depends on glucose concentration it may cooperate in the development of atherosclerosis and kidney fibroblasts, promoting nephropathy in diabetic rats.

Pharmaceutical Prophylaxis of Scarring with Emphasis on Burns: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies

Significance: The worldwide estimate of burns requiring medical attention each year is 11 million. Each year in the United States, ∼486,000 burn injuries receive medical attention, including 40,000 hospitalizations. Scars resulting from burns can be disfiguring and impair functions. The development of prophylactic drugs for cutaneous scarring could improve the outcomes for burns, traumatic lacerations (>6 million/year treated in U.S. emergency rooms), and surgical incisions (∼250 million/year worldwide). Antiscar pharmaceuticals have been estimated to have a market of $12 billion. Recent Advances: Many small molecules, cells, proteins/polypeptides, and nucleic acids have mitigated scarring in animal studies and clinical trials, but none have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval yet. Critical Issues: The development of antiscar pharmaceuticals involves the identification of the proper dose, frequency of application, and window of administration postwounding for the indicated wound. Risks of infection and impaired healing must be considered. Scar outcome needs to be evaluated after scars have matured. Future Directions: Once treatments have demonstrated safety and efficacy in rodent and/or rabbit and porcine wound models, human testing can begin, such as on artificially created wounds on healthy subjects and on bilateral-surgical wounds, comparing treatments versus vehicle controls on intrapatient-matched wounds, before testing on separate cohorts of patients. Given the progress made in the past 20 years, FDA-approved drugs for improving scar outcomes may be expected.

Role of corneal collagen fibrils in corneal disorders and related pathological conditions

The cornea is a soft tissue located at the front of the eye with the principal function of transmitting and refracting light rays to precisely sense visual information. Corneal shape, refraction, and stromal stiffness are to a large part determined by corneal fibrils, the arrangements of which define the corneal cells and their functional behaviour. However, the modality and alignment of native corneal collagen lamellae are altered in various corneal pathological states such as infection, injury, keratoconus, corneal scar formation, and keratoprosthesis. Furthermore, corneal recuperation after corneal pathological change is dependent on the balance of corneal collagen degradation and contraction. A thorough understanding of the characteristics of corneal collagen is thus necessary to develop viable therapies using the outcome of strategies using engineered corneas. In this review, we discuss the composition and distribution of corneal collagens as well as their degradation and contraction, and address the current status of corneal tissue engineering and the progress of corneal cross-linking.