A comparison of the wound healing process after the application of three dermal substitutes with or without basic fibroblast growth factor impregnation in diabetic mice.

Pelnac Gplus, Integra, and Terudermis are approved artificial dermis products in Japan. Previously, we proved that Pelnac Gplus was able to sustain basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and accelerated wound healing by releasing impregnated bFGF. In this study, we impregnated Pelnac Gplus, Integra, and Terudermis with bFGF and compared the binding activity and wound-healing process. We applied bFGF to each material and compared the bFGF concentrations in the surrounding area after 24-h incubation. For the in vivo study, dermal substitutes were impregnated with bFGF and implanted into full-thickness wounds of BKS.Cg-+Leprdb/+Leprdb/Jcl mice. Wounds were evaluated at days 7, 14, and 21 after implantation. The in vitro study showed that bFGF is strongly bound to Integra, followed by Pelnac Gplus and Terudermis. The in vivo study showed that fibroblasts and capillaries had infiltrated into the Pelnac Gplus but not the Integra or Terudermis. Furthermore, long epithelium and wide granulation tissue were formed in the Pelnac Gplus with bFGF group. The Terudermis with bFGF group had more capillaries than other groups, but only at the base of the wound. The combination of Pelnac Gplus with bFGF may be a novel approach for treating full-thickness skin defects or chronic skin ulcers.