Jia xin Liu; Lei Yang; Yu Wan; Wen e Zhao & Shu-Wei Li

The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic wound healing potential and molecular mechanisms of shikonin as small molecules in vitro. A mouse burn model was used to explore the potential therapeutic effect of shikonin; we traced proliferating cells in vivo to locate the active area of skin cell proliferation. Through the results of conventional pathological staining, we found that shikonin has a good effect on the treatment of burned skin and promoted the normal distribution of skin keratin at the damaged site. At the same time, shikonin also promoted the proliferation of skin cells at the damaged site; importantly, we found a significant increase in the number of fibroblasts at the damaged site treated with shikonin. Most importantly, shikonin promotes fibroblasts to repair skin wounds by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. This study shows that shikonin can effectively promote the proliferation of skin cell, and local injection of fibroblasts in burned skin can play a certain therapeutic role.

KEY WORDS: Shikonin; Small molecules; Fibroblasts; Burned skin; PI3K/AKT; Wound Healing.

LIU, J. X.; YANG, L.; WAN, Y.; ZHAO, W. E. & LI, S. W. Small molecules accelerate skin wound healing: shikonin efficacy and mechanism of action in mice. Int. J. Morphol., 42(1):127-136, 2024.