©2013 Regents of the University of California and VerusMed, with permission. Unauthorized reproduction of Wound Care Update is strictly prohibited. Growth substances (cytokines and growth factors) are soluble signaling proteins affecting the process of normal wound healing. Cytokines govern the inflammatory phase that clears cellular and extracellular matrix debris. Wound repair is controlled b...

Glia-promoting factors (GPFs) are brain peptides which stimulate growth of specific macroglial populations in vitro. To identify the cellular sources of GPFs, we examined enriched brain cell cultures and cell lines derived from the nervous system for the production of growth factors. Ameboid microglia secreted astroglia-stimulating peptides, while growing neurons were the best source of the oli...

Colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in the United States. Lifestyle and dietary patterns influence colon cancer risk both positively and negatively. Among the dietary factors, several plant-derived compounds have been found to afford colon cancer protection. These compounds potentially influence all aspects of colonic cellular regulation and develop complex interrel...

Internal ribosome entry sites (IRES) allow ribosomes to be recruited to mRNA in a cap-independent manner. Some viruses that impair cap-dependent translation initiation utilize IRES to ensure that the viral RNA will efficiently compete for the translation machinery. IRES are also employed for the translation of a subset of cellular messages during conditions that inhibit cap-dependent translatio...

Molloy, et. al., (2003) address specific growth factors encountered in ligament and tendon healing. After reading about the factors found in superficial wounds, above, these should appear familiar, including: Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)—produced shortly after tendon injury, stimulates production of other growth factors such as IGF-1, and is involved in the tissue remodeling phase of h...

Members of the Wnt family of signal transducers regulate cellular differentiation/reorganization and cellular proliferation. However, few pro-proliferative targets of Wnt have been identified. We now show that cyclin D1, a critical mediator of cell cycle progression, is a downstream target of Wnt-dependent signaling. NIH-3T3 cell lines engineered to overexpress Wnt1 displayed reduced glycogen s...

Free radicals and other oxygenor nitrogen-derived reactive species formed during cellular metabolism and respiration, like superoxide (O2 ), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and nitric oxide (NO), are important second messengers and fundamental mediators in biological processes, redox signaling, and cellular growth. However, over the past 2 decades it has become clear that reactive oxygen species (ROS...