Lucilia sericata Larval Secretions Stimulating Wound Healing Effects on Rat Dermal Fibroblast Cells

Abstract

The extract from larval Lucilia sericata is used clinically to promote wound healing and tissue regeneration. However, its effect and underlying mechanisms on fibroblast cells, which are involved in the wound healing process, are still poorly understood. This study aimed to examine the effects of larval secretions on dermal fibroblast activity and gene expression and to evaluate the wound healing potential of their major components. Primary rat fibroblasts were cultured and treated with larval secretions. Following the treatment, the cells were used to extract RNA for gene profiling. In addition, migration to the injury site was studied with the scratch healing assay. Our results showed that larval secretion accelerated the migration of the fibroblasts compared to the control cells and that several mRNAs were differentially expressed during a period of 72 h incubation. Additionally, we analyzed the chemical composition of larval secretions and showed that fumaric acid, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid, which were selected and identified for their major components, enhanced the migration of the fibroblasts. Therefore, these results indicate that L. sericata larval secretions could modulate the mRNA expression of some wound healing-related genes of the fibroblasts and contain the effective components for wound healing.