Marine Collagen: A Promising Biomaterial for Wound Healing, Skin Anti-Aging, and Bone Regeneration

Marine organisms harbor numerous bioactive substances that can be utilized in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Scientific research on various applications of collagen extracted from these organisms has become increasingly prevalent. Marine collagen can be used as a biomaterial because it is water soluble, metabolically compatible, and highly accessible. Upon review of the literature, it is evident that marine collagen is a versatile compound capable of healing skin injuries of varying severity, as well as delaying the natural human aging process. From in vitro to in vivo experiments, collagen has demonstrated its ability to invoke keratinocyte and fibroblast migration as well as vascularization of the skin. Additionally, marine collagen and derivatives have proven beneficial and useful for both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis prevention and treatment. Other bone-related diseases may also be targeted by collagen, as it is capable of increasing bone mineral density, mineral deposition, and importantly, osteoblast maturation and proliferation. In this review, we demonstrate the advantages of marine collagen over land animal sources and the biomedical applications of marine collagen related to bone and skin damage. Finally, some limitations of marine collagen are briefly discussed.

Effect of two homeopathic remedies at different degrees of dilutions on the wound closure of 3T3 fibroblasts in in vitro scratch assay

Background: Since ancient times, preparations from traditional medicinal plants e.g. Arnica montana, Calendula officinalis or Hypericum perforatum have been used for different wound healing purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the commercial low dilution homeopathic remedy Similasan® Arnica plus Spray, a preparation of Arnica montana 4x, Calendula officinalis 4x, Hypericum perforatum 4x and Symphytum officinale 6x (0712-2) and medium diluted SIM WuS (Petroleum 15x, Arnica montana 15x, Calcium fluoratum 12x, Calendula officinalis 12x, Hepar sulfuris 12x and Mercurius solubilis 15x; 1101-4), on the wound healing in cultured NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Both remedies were from Similasan AG (Jonen, Switzerland) and prepared according the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (GHP) following descriptions 4a for arnica, 3a for marigold and St. John’s wort, 2a for comfrey, 5a for petroleum, and 6 for calcium fluoride, hepar sulfuris and mercurius solubilis. Materials and Methods: Cell proliferation, migration and wound closure promoting effect of the preparations (0712-2, 1101- 4) and their succussed solvents (0712-1, 1101-3) were investigated on mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Cell viability was determined by WST-1 assay, cell growth using BrdU uptake, cell migration by chemotaxis assay and wound closure by CytoSelect ™Wound Healing Assay Kit which generated a defined wound area. All assays were performed in three independent controlled experiments. In some experiments diluted unsuccussed alcohol (0712-3) was also investigated. Results: Preparations (0712-1), (0712-2), (0712-3), (1101-3) and (1101-4) were investigated at decimal dilution steps from 1x to 4x. Cell viabilty was not affected by any of the substances and (0712-1) and (0712-2) showed no stimulating effect on cell proliferation. Preparation (0712-2) exerted a stimulating effect on fibroblast migration (31.7%) vs 15% with succussed solvent (0712-1) at 1:100 dilutions (p0.05). Positive control 2 ng/ml EGF increased migratory activity of cells by 49.8%. Preparation (0712-2) at a dilution of 1:100 promoted in vitro wound closure by 59.5% and differed significantly (p

Ceramide synthesis regulates biogenesis and packaging of exosomal MALAT1 from adipose derived stem cells, increases dermal fibroblast migration and mitochondrial function.

Background The function of exosomes, small extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC), is becoming increasingly recognized as a means of transferring the regenerative power of stem cells to injured cells in wound healing. Exosomes are rich in ceramides and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) like metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1). We identified putative ceramide responsive cis-elements (CRCE) in MALAT1. We hypothesized that CRCE respond to cellular ceramide levels to regulate EVs MALAT1 packaging. MALAT1 levels by many cells exceeds those of protein coding genes and it’s expression is equally high in exosomes. Ceramide also regulates exosome synthesis, however, the contents of exosome cargo via sphingomyelinase and ceramide synthase pathways has not been demonstrated. Methods ADSC were treated with an inhibitor of sphingomyelinase, GW4869, and stimulators of ceramide synthesis, C2- and C6-short chain ceramides, prior to collection of conditioned media (CM). EV were isolated from CM, and then used to treat human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cultures in cell migration scratch assays, and mitochondrial stress tests to evaluate oxygen consumption rates (OCR). Results Inhibition of sphingomyelinase by treatment of ADSC with GW4869 lowered levels of MALAT1 in small EVs. Stimulation of ceramide synthesis using C2- and C6- ceramides increased cellular, EVs levels of MALAT1. The functional role of EV MALAT1 was evaluated in HDF by applying EVs to HDF. Control EVs increased migration of HDF, and significantly increased ATP production, basal and maximal respiration OCR. EV from GW4869-treated ADSC inhibited cell migration and maximal respiration. However, EV from C2- and C6-treated cells, respectively, increased both functions but not significantly above control EV except for maximal respiration. EV were exosomes except when ADSC were treated with GW4869 and C6-ceramide, then they were larger and considered microvesicles. Conclusions Ceramide synthesis regulates MALAT1 EV content. Sphingomyelinase inhibition blocked MALAT1 from being secreted from ADSC EVs. Our report is consistent with those of MALAT1 increasing cell migration and mitochondrial MALAT1 altering maximal respiration in cells. Since MALAT1 is important for exosome function, it stands that increased exosomal MALAT1 should be beneficial for wound healing as shown with these assays.

Profiling and Functional Analysis of microRNA Deregulation in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Depicts an Anti-Invasive Role of microRNA-204 via Regulation of Their Motility

Background: Knowledge on the role of miR changes in tumor stroma for cancer progression is limited. This study aimed to investigate the role of miR dysregulation in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methodology: CAF and normal oral fibroblasts (NOFs) were isolated from biopsies of OSCC patients and healthy individuals after informed consent and grown in 3D collagen gels. Total RNA was extracted. Global miR expression was profiled using Illumina version 2 panels. The functional impact of altered miR-204 expression in fibroblasts on their phenotype and molecular profile was investigated using mimics and inhibitors of miR-204. Further, the impact of miR-204 expression in fibroblasts on invasion of adjacent OSCC cells was assessed in 3D-organotypic co-cultures. Results: Unsupervised hierarchical clustering for global miR expression resulted in separate clusters for CAF and NOF. SAM analysis identified differential expression of twelve miRs between CAF and NOF. Modulation of miR-204 expression did not affect fibroblast cell proliferation, but resulted in changes in the motility phenotype, expression of various motility-related molecules, and invasion of the adjacent OSCC cells. 3′ UTR miR target reporter assay showed ITGA11 to be a direct target of miR-204. Conclusions: This study identifies differentially expressed miRs in stromal fibroblasts of OSCC lesions compared with normal oral mucosa and it reveals that one of the significantly downregulated miRs in CAF, miR-204, has a tumor-suppressive function through inhibition of fibroblast migration by modulating the expression of several different molecules in addition to directly targeting ITGA11.