Far-infrared promotes wound healing through activation of Notch1 signaling

What is it about?

Far-infrared (FIR) has an effect that promotes wound healing. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. In the present study we employed in vivo and HaCaT (a human skin keratinocyte cell line) models to elucidate the role of Notch1 signaling in FIR-promoted wound healing.

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Why is it important?

We found that FIR enhanced keratinocyte migration and proliferation. FIR induced the Notch1 signaling pathway in HaCaT cells and in a microarray dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We next determined the mRNA levels of NOTCH1 in paired normal and wound skin tissues derived from clinical patients using the microarray dataset and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. The result indicated that the Notch1/Twist1 axis plays important roles in wound healing and tissue repair. In addition, inhibiting Notch1 signaling decreased the FIR-enhanced proliferation and migration. In a full-thickness wound model in rats, the wounds healed more rapidly and the scar size was smaller in the FIR group than in the light group. Moreover, FIR could increase Notch1 and Delta1 in skin tissues.

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