Growth Factors in Wound Healing – A Review

Abstract

The review is an overview of the features of growth factors involved in cellular signaling mechanisms regulating the wound healing process. Understanding the insights of this mechanism is significant for opening therapeutic and research avenues in wound healing. The review highlights the synergistic functioning of most of the growth factors which would enhance the possibility of these factors being the targets for wound care therapy.The significance of the onset and resolution of inflammation in the healing process is better understood clinically and a range of recombinant growth factors to combat this condition have been identified and used to accelerate healing process.The chemotactic and growth regulating factors act as triggers that take the cellular and biochemical components through the inflammation, proliferation, epithelialization, angiogenesis and tissue remodeling phases. Clinical conditions that create alteration in expression of these factors lead to slow and incomplete healing. The review emphasizes on the clinical use of synthetic and recombinant growth factors whose synergistic effects are remarkable. The review covers the specific signaling mechanisms involved in the regulation of these growth factor expressions, specifically the PI3K/AKT, RAS/MAP and JAK pathways; these could be potential targets for future research expansions in this field.