Novel Biomedical Functions of Surfactin A from Bacillus subtilis in Wound Healing Promotion and Scar Inhibition

Surfactin produced by Bacillus subtilis is a powerful biosurfactant in food, cosmetics, and pesticide industries. However, its suitability in wound healing applications is uncertain. In this article, we determined the effects of surfactin A from B. subtilis on wound healing, angiogenesis, cell migration, inflammatory response, and scar formation. The results indicated that 80.65 +/- 2.03% of surfactin A-treated wounds were closed, whereas 44.30 +/- 4.26% of the vehicle-treated wound areas remained open on day 7 (P < 0.05). In mechanisms, it upregulated the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), accelerated keratinocyte migration through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) signaling pathways, and regulated the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and macrophage phenotypic switch. More attractive, surfactin A showed a seductive capability to inhibit scar tissue formation by affecting the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and transforming growth factor (TGF-beta). Overall, the study revealed a new function and potential of surfactin A as an affordable and efficient wound healing drug.