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Updated: Aug 19, 2025
A Mouse Fetal Skin Model of Scarless Wound Repair
Published on: January 16, 2015
A Free Fatty Acid Synthetic Agonist Accelerates Wound Healing and Improves Scar Quality in Mice
Thais P Prado1,2, Carlos P Jara1,2, Vanessa C Dias Bóbbo1,2
1Nursing School, Laboratory of Cell Signaling Obesity and Comorbidities Center, OCRC, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil.
Background:
Impaired wound healing is a health problem around the world, and the search for a novel product to repair wounded skin is a major topic in the field. GW9508 is a synthetic molecule described as a selective agonist of free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) 1 and 4, and there is evidence of its anti-inflammatory effects on several organs of the body.
Purpose:
Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of topical GW9508 on wound healing in mice.
Research Design:
First, we used bioinformatic methods to determine the expression of FFAR1 and FFAR4 mRNA in the skin from a human cell atlas assembled with single-cell transcriptomes. Next, we employed 6-week-old C57BL6J mice with 2 wounds inflicted in the back. The mice were randomly divided into 2 groups, a control group, which received topical vehicle, and a treatment group, which received GW9508, for 12 days. The wound was monitored by photographic documentation every 2 days, and samples were collected at day 6 and 12 post injury for RT-PCR, western blot and histology analyses.
Results:
FFAR1 and FFAR4 mRNA are expressed in skin cells in similar amounts to those in other tissues. Topical GW9508 accelerated wound healing and decreased gene expression of IL-10 and metalloproteinase 9 on days 6 and 12 post injury. It increased the quantity of Collagen I and improved the organization of collagen fibres. Conclusions: Our results show that GW9508 could be an attractive drug treatment for wounded skin. Future studies need to be performed to assess the impact of GW9508 in chronic wound models.
