Wound dressing composed of hyaluronic acid and collagen containing EGF or bFGF: comparative culture study

We developed a novel wound dressing composed of a hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen (Col) spongy sheet containing epidermal growth factor (EGF) or basic fibrolast growth factor (bFGF) by freeze-drying method (EGF-wound dressing or bFGF-wound dressing, respectively). A wound dressing without any growth factor was prepared as a control in a similar manner as above (C-wound dressing). Intermolecular cross-linkage between Col molecules was induced by UV irradiation. The release behavior of free HA from the wound dressing was investigated using a C-wound dressing. The weight of C-wound dressing after 1 day, 3, 5, and 7 days of incubation on top of a Col gel sheet at the air-water interface (wound surface model) was 55, 36, 30, and 19% of the original weight, respectively. Most free HA and a part of Col was released from the cross-linked Col network in the wound dressing during incubation, as the original Col content in the wound dressing was 33%. Next, fibroblast proliferation was assessed in conventional culture medium preconditioned by immersion of a piece of C-, EGF-, or bFGF-wound dressing, i.e. C-conditioned medium, EGF-conditioned medium, or bFGF-conditioned medium. Cell proliferation in C-conditioned medium increased to approximately the same level as that in conventional medium. Cell proliferation in EGF- and bFGF-conditioned medium was 1.9 times and 2.6 times greater than that in conventional medium after 7 days of cultivation, respectively. Finally, cytokine production of fibroblasts was assessed in a wound surface model using a fibroblast-incorporating Col gel sheet (cultured dermal substitute [CDS]). CDS was elevated to the air-medium interface, on which each wound dressing was placed and cultured for 7 days. Fibroblasts in CDS covered with EGF-wound dressing released 3.6 times more vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and 4.6 times more hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) when compared with the C-wound dressing. Fibroblasts in CDS covered with bFGF-wound dressing released 10.2 times more VEGF and 6.3 times more HGF when compared with the C-wound dressing. This finding indicates that bFGF-wound dressing can facilitate more effectively the VEGF and FGF production compared with EGF-wound dressing.