Synthetic TGF-beta antagonist accelerates wound healing and reduces scarring.

Wound healing consists of re-epithelialization, contraction and formation of granulation and scar tissue. TGF-b is involved in these events, but its exact roles are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that topical application of a synthetic TGF-b antagonist accelerates re-epithelialization in pig burn wounds (100% re-epithelialization in antagonist-treated wounds vs. approximately 70% re-epithelialization in control wounds on postburn day 26) and reduces wound contraction and scarring in standard pig skin burn, pig skin excision and rabbit skin excision wounds. These results support the distinct roles of TGF-b in the complex process of wound healing and demonstrate the feasibility of manipulating wound healing by TGF-b antagonist.