Electrical Stimulation Modulates the Expression of Multiple Wound Healing Genes in Primary Human Dermal Fibroblasts

This study profiled multiple human dermal fibroblast wound-healing genes in response to electrical stimulation (ES) by using an RT(2) profiler PCR-Array system. Primary human skin fibroblasts were seeded on heparin (HE)-bioactivated polypyrrole (PPy)/poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) conductive membranes, cultured, and subsequently exposed to ES of 50 or 200 mV/mm for 6 h. Following ES, the cells were used to extract RNA for gene profiling, and culture supernatants were used to measure the level of the different wound healing mediators. A total of 57 genes were affected (activated/repressed) by ES; among these, 49 were upregulated and 8 were downregulated. ES intensities at 50 and 200 mV/mm activated/repressed different genes. The ES-modulated genes are involved in cell adhesion, remodeling and spreading, cytoskeletal activity, extracellular matrix metabolism, production of inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and growth factors, as well as signal transduction. The expression of several genes was supported by protein production. Protein analyses showed that ES increased CCL7, KGF, and TIMP2, but reduced MMP2. This study demonstrated that ES modulates the expression of a variety of genes involved in the wound healing process, confirming that ES is a useful tool in regenerative medicine.