Effect of peptides of bovine myelin basic protein on dermal fibroblasts

Bovine basic protein (BP) was digested with purified bovine brain cathepsin D to produce well defined BP derived peptides 1-42, 43-88, 43-169, and 89-169. BP and these BP peptides were tested for their effects on cultured human dermal fibroblasts using a concentration range of 0.01-1,000 ng/ml. No effect was found on cellular proliferation, and neither total protein nor collagen synthesis was altered in the presence of these substances. Although preparations of brain which contain a fibroblast-growth factor also contain BP peptides, these results indicate that the purified BP peptides studied have no detectable biological effect on the growth of human dermal fibroblasts.