Biocompatibility of wound management products: the effect of various monosaccharides on L929 and 2002 fibroblast cells in culture

Abstract

Abstract The effects of various monosaccharides on the growth of human 2002 and mouse L929 fibroblast cultures have been investigated. Eleven monosaccharides having acidic, neutral, and basic characteristics were evaluated in a bioassay procedure developed for the investigation of biocompatibility of wound management materials. Rate of growth in both cell lines was inhibited by D-galacturonic acid and by D-glucuronic acid. Although most neutral sugars produced no significant change in the growth rate or in the morphology of the cells, galactose produced a significant increase in the growth rate of both cell lines whilst L-fucose caused a significant decrease in growth of the L929 cells but did not significantly affect the growth of 2002 cells; xylose increased the growth rate of L929 but not 2002 cells. D-Glucosamine, a basic sugar, produced inhibition of growth which followed a different pattern from that produced by the acidic sugars; N-acetylglucosamine produced a species specific increase in cell growth of L929 cells. The results show that the effects produced by the monosaccharides on the cultured fibroblasts are related to their chemical structure and to cell line, and suggest that the use of galactose as a possible aid to wound healing should be investigated.