Novel Biomedical Functions of Surfactin A from Bacillus subtilis in Wound Healing Promotion and Scar Inhibition

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 68; no. 26; pp. 6987 - 6997
• Main Authors: Yan, Lu, Liu, Guanwen, Zhao, Bin, Pang, Bing, Wu, Wanqin, Ai, Chongyang, Zhao, Xixi, Wang, Xinglong, Jiang, Chunmei, Shao, Dongyan, Liu, Qianlong, Li, Meixuan, Wang, Lei, Shi, Junling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Animals; Bacillus subtilis - chemistry; Bacillus subtilis - metabolism; Bioactive Constituents, Metabolites, and Functions; Cicatrix - drug therapy; Cicatrix - genetics; Cicatrix - metabolism; Cicatrix - physiopathology; Humans; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit - genetics; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit - metabolism; Lipopeptides - metabolism; Lipopeptides - pharmacology; Male; Mice; NF-kappa B - genetics; NF-kappa B - metabolism; Transforming Growth Factor beta - metabolism; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - genetics; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - metabolism; Wound Healing - drug effects; cell migration; wound healing; surfactin A; Bacillus subtilis; scar inhibition
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c01658

Surfactin produced by Bacillus subtilis is a powerful biosurfactant in food, cosmetics, and pesticide industries. However, its suitability in wound healing applications is uncertain. In this article, we determined the effects of surfactin A from B. subtilis on wound healing, angiogenesis, cell migration, inflammatory response, and scar formation. The results indicated that 80.65 ± 2.03% of surfactin A-treated wounds were closed, whereas 44.30 ± 4.26% of the vehicle-treated wound areas remained open on day 7 (P < 0.05). In mechanisms, it upregulated the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), accelerated keratinocyte migration through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways, and regulated the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and macrophage phenotypic switch. More attractive, surfactin A showed a seductive capability to inhibit scar tissue formation by affecting the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and transforming growth factor (TGF-β). Overall, the study revealed a new function and potential of surfactin A as an affordable and efficient wound healing drug.