The effect of pH on cell viability, cell migration, cell proliferation, wound closure, and wound reepithelialization: In vitro and in vivo study

Abstract Wound microenvironment plays a major role in the process of wound healing. It contains various external and internal factors that participate in wound pathophysiology. The pH is an important factor that influences wound healing by changing throughout the healing process. Several previous studies have investigated the role of pH in relation to pathogens but studies concentrating on the effects of pH on wound healing itself are inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively and in a controlled fashion investigate the effect of pH on wound healing by studying its effect on human primary keratinocyte and fibroblast function in vitro and on wound healing in vivo. In vitro, primary human keratinocytes and fibroblasts were cultured in different levels of pH (5.5–12.5) and the effect on cell viability, proliferation, and migration was studied. A rat full‐thickness wound model was used to investigate the effect of pH (5.5–9.5) on wound healing in vivo. The effect of pH on inflammation was monitored by measuring IL‐1 concentrations from wounds and cell cultures exposed to different pH environments. Our results showed that both skin cell types tolerated wide range of pH very well. They further demonstrated that both acidic and alkaline environments decelerated cell migration in comparison to neutral environments and interestingly alkaline conditions significantly enhanced cell proliferation. Results from the in vivo experiments indicated that a prolonge...
Source: Wound Repair and Regeneration - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Original Research ‐Basic Science Source Type: research