Growth Factor Mimetics for Skin Regeneration: In Vitro Profiling of Primary Human Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes

The study explored the skin regeneration potential of two small molecule growth factor mimetics, SUN11602 and ONO-1301, on primary human skin fibroblasts and keratinocytes. SUN11602, which mimics FGF-2, was found to stimulate keratinocyte differentiation and upregulate VEGFA and MMP1 expression, both crucial for wound healing. ONO-1301, a prostacyclin and VEGF mimetic, primarily enhanced fibroblast proliferation and migration, and also increased VEGFA and MMP1 expression. Purmorphamine, however, did not significantly affect the target genes. The results suggest that SUN11602 and ONO-1301 could be promising for treating difficult wounds and for creating engineered skin substitutes. The conclusions are drawn from in vitro experiments conducted in triplicates for statistical relevance.