Background:Most studies on regenerative medicine focus on cell-based therapies and transplantations.Small-molecule therapeutics, though proved effective in different medical conditions, have not been extensivelyinvestigated in regenerative research. It is known that healing potential decreases with development and devel-opmental changes are driven by epigenetic mechanisms, which suggests epigenetic repression of regenerativecapacity.Methods:We...

The ear pinna is a complex tissue consisting of the dermis, cartilage, muscles, vessels, and nerves. Ear pinna healing is a model of regeneration in mammals. In some mammals, including rabbits, punch wounds in the ear pinna close spontaneously; in common-use laboratory mice, they remain for life. Agents inducing ear pinna healing are potential regenerative drugs. We tested the effects of selected bioactive agents on 2 mm ear pinna...

In this work, a nucleoside inhibitor of DNA methyltransferases, zebularine, was investigated as a wound healing and regeneration promoting agent. It was found that a high dose of intraperitoneally delivered zebularine improved punch wound closure in the ear pinna in mice. Both cytidine, a zebularine analogue, and uridine, a zebularine metabolite, did not promote ear pinna hole closure. The effect of zebularine on ear pinna healing...

Despite significant development in regenerative medicine, there is a deficit of effective therapies for wound healing and tissue regeneration. Research performed using animal wound models allows for a better understanding of this complex process, searching for compounds with pro-regenerative properties, and assessing their efficacy and safety. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate preclinical models proves to be an issue as no animal...

DNA methyltransferase inhibitor zebularine was proven to induce regeneration in the ear pinna in mice. We utilized a dorsal skin wound model to further evaluate this epigenetic inhibitor in wound healing. Full-thickness excisional wounds were made on the dorsum of 2 and 10-month-old healthy BALB/c and 3 and 8-month-old diabetic (db/db) mice, followed by topical or intraperitoneal zebularine delivery. Depending on the strain, age,...