Anti-EGF (aa 926-1025) polyclonal antibody

Breast milk is a rich fluid containing bioactive compounds such as specific growth factors (GF) that contribute to maturation of the immune system in early life. The aim of this study was to determine whether transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-beta 2), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), compounds present in breast milk, could promote systemic immune maturation. For this purpose, newborn Wistar rats were daily supplemented with these GF by oral gavage during the suckling period (21 days of life). At day 14 and 21 of life, plasma for immunoglobulin (Ig) quantification was obtained and spleen lymphocytes were isolated, immunophenotyped and cultured to evaluate their ability to proliferate and release cytokines. The main result was obtained at day 14, when supplementation with EGF increased B cell proportion to reach levels observed at day 21. At the end of the suckling period, all GF increased the plasma levels of IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes, FGF21 balanced the Th1/Th2 cytokine response and both EGF and FGF21 modified splenic lymphocyte composition. These results suggested that the studied milk bioactive factors, mainly EGF and FGF21, may have modulatory roles in the systemic immune responses in early life, although their physiological roles remain to be established.

The self-assembly of hydrophobically modified polymers has become a research hotspot due to its wide application in the biomedical field. Recombinant human epidermal growth factors (rhEGFs) are molecules that are able to enhance wound healing; however, they have a short half-life and require sustained action to enhance their mitogenic effect on epithelial cells. Here, we proposed a new delivery system to avoid the inhibition of rhEGF by various enzymes, thus improving its bioavailability and sustained release. The amphiphilic polymer was composed of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), which were further characterized by fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and(1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1 NMR). Then, the self-assembly behavior of CLA-CMCS (CC) polymer in water was observed in which the particle size of CC decreased from 196 to 155 nm with the degree of CLA substitution increasing. The nanoparticles were loaded with rhEGF and the maximum rhEGF loading efficiency (LE) of CC3 nanoparticles was 82.43 +/- 3.14%. Furthermore, CC nanoparticles (NPs) exhibited no cytotoxicity for L929 cells, and cell proliferation activity was well preserved after rhEGF loading to CC-NPs and was comparable to that of free rhEGF. Topically applied rhEGF:CC-NPs significantly accelerated the wound-closure rate in full thickness, which was most probably due to its sustained release and enhanced skin permeation. In conclusion, carboxymethyl chitosan-based nanoparticles were constructed and showed good cytocompatibility. Moreover, these findings also demonstrated the therapeutic potential of rhEGF:CC-NPs as a topical wound-healing drug carrier.