Synergy between Cold Atmospheric Plasma and Acidic Fibroblast Growth
Factor during Wound Healing, Angiogenesis, Neurogenesis, and
Osteogenesis
Abstract
Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is an emerging biomedical technology
exemplified by its antimicrobial and anti-neoplastic applications. While
acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) has been a long-standing potent
mitogen for cells from various origins. In this study, we conducted a
direct comparison between CAP and aFGF and investigated their
collaboration during wound healing, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and
osteogenesis. This work was systematically performed at the tissue,
cellular, protein, and gene levels, using histochemical staining, flow
cytometry, ELISA, and PCR, respectively. The results showed that the
enhancement on would healing and angiogenesis by CAP and aFGF were
synergistic. The former was manifested by increased murine fibroblast
proliferation and reduced cutaneous tissue inflammation, whereas the
latter by upregulated proangiogenic markers in vivo, e.g. CD31, VEGF and
TGF-, and downregulated antiangiogenic proteins in vitro, e.g.
angiostatin and angiopoietin-2, respectively. In addition, aFGF
outperformed CAP during neurogenesis, which was evidenced by superior
neurite outgrowth, while CAP exceeded aFGF in osteogenesis, which was
demonstrated by more substantial bone nodule formation. These findings
not only support the fact that both CAP and aFGF are potent
multifunctional agents during tissue regeneration, but also highlight
the potential of multimodal therapy combining the individual advantages
of CAP and aFGF.