History
 

FABAD  J. Pharm. Sci.
ISSN 1300-4182
Copyright Ó 2005 FABAD. All rights reserved 

FABAD J. Pharm. Sci., 21(2), 61-69,1996.

Scientific Reviews

ABSTRACT

THE ROLE OF EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR (EGF) IN WOUND HEALING
Ali TÜRKYILMAZ*, Nevin ÇELEBI*, Bilge GÖNÜL** °
*Gazi University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, 06330 Etiler, Ankara, TURKEY. **Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Phisiology, 06300, Besevler, Ankara, TURKEY.
°Corresponding Author

Summary:
The process of wound healing begins immediately following surface lesions or when skin proteins become exposed to radiation, chemical damage or extreme temperatures. Wound repair requires close control of regerative process, involving numerous cell types and complex interactions between multiple biochemical cascades. Growth factors released in the traumatized area promote cell migration into the wound area, stimulated the growth of epithelial cells and fibroblasts, initiate the formulation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), and remodeling of the effected region. Different human and animal studies have shown that exogenously added growth factors can accelerate that the normal healing process.
The growth factors have also been used succesfully in humans to treat previously incurable wounds. The most intensively studied growth factors are EGF, FGFs, PDGF, TGF-? and TGF-?s. The process of wound healing and the effects of EGF in wound healing has been discussed in this review.

Keywords:
Wound healing, epidermal growth factor