Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) belongs to a large family of growth factors. FGFs use paracrine or endocrine signaling to mediate a myriad of biological and pathophysiological process, including angiogenesis, wound healing, embryonic development, and metabolism regulation. FGF drugs for the treatment of burn and ulcer wounds are now available. The recent discovery of the crucial roles of the endocrine-acting FGF19 subfamily in maintaining homeostasis of bile acid, glucose, and phosphate further extended the activity profile of this family. Here, the applications of recombinant FGFs for the treatment of wounds, diabetes, hypophosphatemia, the development of FGF receptor inhibitors as anti-neoplastic drugs, and the achievements of basic research and applications of FGFs in China are reviewed.

Growth factors are involved in the regulation of hair morphogenesis and cycle hair growth. The present study sought to investigate the hair growth promoting activities of three approved growth factor drugs, fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF-10), acidic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-1), and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), and the mechanism of action. We observed that FGFs promoted hair growth by inducing the anagen phase in telogenic C57BL/6 mice. Specifically, the histomorphometric analysis data indicates that topical application of FGFs induced an earlier anagen phase and prolonged the mature anagen phase, in contrast to the control group. Moreover, the immunohistochemical analysis reveals earlier induction ofβ-catenin and Sonic hedgehog (Shh) in hair follicles of the FGFs-treated group. These results suggest that FGFs promote hair growth by inducing the anagen phase in resting hair follicles and might be a potential hair growth-promoting agent.

Objective The present study focused on the development of a poloxamer 407 thermosensitive hydrogel loaded with keratinocyte growth factor-2 (KGF-2) and fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) as a therapeutic biomaterial in a scald-wound model of type-2 diabetes in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. Research design and methods In this study, a poloxamer 407 thermosensitive hydrogel loaded with KGF-2 and/or FGF-21 was prepared and its physical and biological properties were characterized. The repairing effects of this hydrogel were investigated in a scald-wound model of type-2 diabetes in GK rats. The wound healing rate, epithelialization, and formation of granulation tissue were examined, and biomarkers reflecting regulation of proliferation and inflammation were quantified by immunostaining and Western blotting. T tests and analyses of variance were used for statistical analysis via Graphpad Prism V.6.0. Results A 17.0% (w/w) poloxamer 407 combined with 1.0% (w/w) glycerol exhibited controlled release characteristics and a three-dimensional structure. A KGF-2/FGF-21 poloxamer hydrogel promoted cellular migration without apoptosis. This KGF-2/FGF-21 poloxamer hydrogel also accelerated wound healing of scalded skin in GK rats better than that of a KGF-2 or FGF-21 hydrogel alone due to accelerated epithelialization, formation of granulation tissue, collagen synthesis, and angiogenesis via inhibition of inflammatory responses and increased expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen III, pan-keratin, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and CD31. Conclusions A KGF-2/FGF-21 poloxamer hydrogel accelerated wound healing of scalded skin in GK rats, which was attributed to a synergistic effect of KGF-2-mediated cellular proliferation and FGF-21-mediated inhibition of inflammatory responses. Taken together, our findings provide a novel and potentially important insight into improving wound healing in patients with diabetic ulcers.