Low‚Äêconcentration DMSO accelerates skin wound healing by Akt / mTOR ‚Äêmediated cell proliferation and migration in diabetic mice
Authors: Wei Guo
Wei Xing
Xiao He
Zhan Li
Xueting Hu
Xiang Xu
Luoquan Ao
Donglin Luo
Ming Zhu
Wei Qiu
Xiang Ao
Weiqiang Li
Journal: British Journal of Pharmacology (2020)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: DMSO; diabetic skin wound healing; fibroblast proliferation; keratinocyte migration; TGF-Œ≤1 secretion
Affiliations: Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine., Central Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, P.R., China., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Army Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China., Department of General Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.

Abstract:  Background and purpose: DMSO has been found to promote tissue repair. However, the role of DMSO in diabetic skin wound healing and the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Experimental approach: The effects of DMSO on wound healing were evaluated by HE staining, immunohistochemistry and collagen staining using a wound model of full-thickness skin resection on the backs of non-diabetic or diabetic mice. Real-time cell analysis and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation assays were used to study the effect of DMSO on primary fibroblast proliferation. A transwell assay was used to investigate keratinocyte migration. The associated signalling pathway was identified by western blotting and inhibitor blocking. The effect of DMSO on the translation rate of downstream target genes was studied by RT-qPCR of polyribosome mRNA. Key results: We found that low-concentration DMSO significantly accelerated skin wound closure by promoting fibroblast proliferation in both nondiabetic and diabetic mice. In addition, increased migration of keratinocytes may also contribute to accelerated wound healing, which was stimulated by increased TGF-Œ≤1 secretion from fibroblasts. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this effect of DMSO depends on Akt/mTOR-mediated translational control and the promotion of the translation of a set of cell proliferation-related genes. As expected, DMSO-induced wound healing and cell proliferation were impaired by rapamycin, an inhibitor of Akt/mTOR signalling. Conclusion and implications: DMSO can promote skin wound healing in diabetic mice by activating the Akt/mTOR pathway. Low-concentration DMSO presents an alternative medication for chronic cutaneous wounds, especially for diabetic patients. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 Retracted [15 December 2021] . Part of a collection on  [Big Data and Intelligent Computing Techniques in Geosciences]  , edited by Ahmed Farouk.  The Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher have retracted this article because the content of this article is nonsensical. The peer review process was not carried out in accordance with the Publisher s peer review policy. Authors Zhichun Fang, Zhengguo Zhu and Zhiwei Wang have not responded to correspondence regarding this retraction. The Publisher has not been able to obtain a current email address for authors Pengfei Wu, Renyuan Wang and Chaoyi Ma. ,