Mitogenic whey extract stimulates wound repair activity in vitro and promotes healing of rat incisional wounds

The ability of single growth factors to promote healing of normal and compr omised wounds has been well described, but wound healing is a process requi ring the coordinated action of multiple growth factors. Only the synergisti c effect on wound healing of combinations containing at most two individual growth factors has been reported. We sought to assess the ability of a nov el milk-derived growth factor-enriched preparation [mitogenic bovine whey e xtract (MBWE)], which contains six known growth factors, to promote repair processes in organotypic in vitro models and incisional wounds in vivo. MBW E stimulated the contraction of fibroblast-populated collagen lattices in a dose-dependent fashion and promoted the closure of excisional wounds in em bryonic day 17 fetal rat skin. Application of MBWE increased incisional wou nd strength in normal animals on days 3, 5, 7, and 10 and reversed the decr ease in wound strength observed following steroid treatment. Wound histolog y showed increased fibroblast numbers in wounds from normal and steroid-com promised animals. These data suggest the mixture of factors present in bovi ne milk exerts a direct action on the cells of cutaneous wound repair to en hance both normal and compromised healing.