Thymosin β4 accelerates wound healing

Angiogenesis is an essential. step in the repair process that occurs after injury. In this study, we investigated whether the angiogenic thymic peptide thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4) enhanced wound healing in a rat full thickness wound model. Addition of T beta 4 topically or intraperitoneally increased reepithelialization by 42% over saline controls at 4 d and by as much as 61% at 7 d post-wounding. Treated wounds also contracted at least 11% more than controls by day 7. Increased collagen deposition and angiogenesis were observed in the treated wounds. We also found that T beta 4 stimulated keratinocyte migration in the Boyden chamber assay. After 4-5 h, migration was stimulated 2-3-fold over migration with medium alone when as little as 10 pg of T beta 4 was added to the assay. These results suggest that T beta 4 is a potent wound healing factor with multiple activities that may be useful in the clinic.