Novel Protamine-Containing Glucomannan Dressing for Improving Wound Healing of Diabetic Full-Thickness Cutaneous Wounds in Mice

Abstract

Hydrocolloid dressing is the accepted method of wound care. Glucomannan affects skin health by reducing infections, promoting fibroblast accumulation, and stimulating collagen production in cutaneous wounds. Protamine has antibacterial effect and protamine-containing composite materials promote diabetic wound healing. A novel protamine-containing glucomannan dressing was prepared, and its wound-healing effects were compared with those of glucomannan and hydrocolloid dressings. To evaluate the effects of these dressings, full-thickness skin defects were created in nondiabetic, db/db diabetic, and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. The wound areas covered with the dressings were measured and compared. In nondiabetic mice, the three types of dressings exhibited no difference in wound-healing effects after day 5. In db/db diabetic mice, protamine-containing glucomannan dressings appeared to be more effective for wound healing than glucomannan dressings; however, no statistically significant difference was noted. Glucomannan and protamine-containing glucomannan dressings demonstrated significantly more effective wound healing than hydrocolloid dressings. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, all mice with hydrocolloid dressings died within 4 days after wounding, whereas those with glucomannan and protamine-containing glucomannan dressings developed scar at 21 days after wounding. Moreover, protamine-containing glucomannan dressings showed significantly more effective wound healing than glucomannan dressings from day 5 to 15 after wounding. The various effects of protamine likely add to those of glucomannan to promote wound healing. These findings suggested that protamine added to glucomannan dressings may further enhance the wound-healing effect of glucomannan dressings. Although the potential use of protamine-containing glucomannan dressings for the treatment of human skin wounds may be worth exploring, these findings should be interpreted cautiously because the results were derived from animal experiments and histological evaluation was not performed in this study. Further rigorous studies are required before any translational or clinical implications can be drawn.