Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
  • 2 Tissue Engineering Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
  • 3 Ear, Nose & Throat Consultant Clinic, Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, Ampang, Selangor 68000, Malaysia
PMID: 32384749 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17093229

Abstract

Over-induction of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) by tumor growth factor beta (TGFβ) in keratinocytes is a key feature in keloid scar. The present work seeks to investigate the effect of Kelulut honey (KH) on TGFβ-induced EMT in human primary keratinocytes. Image analysis of the real time observation of TGFβ-induced keratinocytes revealed a faster wound closure and individual migration velocity compared to the untreated control. TGFβ-induced keratinocytes also have reduced circularity and display a classic EMT protein expression. Treatment of 0.0015% (v/v) KH reverses these effects. In untreated keratinocytes, KH resulted in slower initial wound closure and individual migration velocity, which sped up later on, resulting in greater wound closure at the final time point. KH treatment also led to greater directional migration compared to the control. KH treatment caused reduced circularity in keratinocytes but displayed a partial EMT protein expression. Taken together, the findings suggest the therapeutic potential of KH in preventing keloid scar by attenuating TGFβ-induced EMT.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.