Evaluation of sea cucumber protein paste for mice’s skin wound healing and its potential anti-inflammatory mechanism

Natural substances with anti-inflammatory activity have always been the priority for human injuries. This study aims to investigate the beneficial effects and mechanism of sea cucumber protein (SCP) on wound healing, through a BALB/c mouse model and lipopolysaccharides-induced RAW 264.7 cells. We identified the mice's serum cytokines and tissue section to find out how SCP paste works. The alteration of the nuclear factor-<i>κ</i>B (NF-<i>κ</i>B) pathway during the anti-inflammatory effect of SCP was also explored. The results showed that the wound healing rate in the SCP(H) group exceeded 90%, whereas it was 72.91% and 64.10% in the Control and negative control groups on day 14. New blood vessels and fibroblasts were generated in the wounds. Collagen expression increased by 13.89% and 15.12% respectively in the SCP(L) and SCP(H) groups compared with the Control group on day 14. Furthermore, SCP decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-<i>α</i>, interleukin (IL)-1<i>β</i>, IL-6) in mice's serum while up-regulating the level of anti-inflammatory factor (IL-10) during the healing process. Furthermore, SCP suppressed the NF-<i>κ</i>B pathway by decreasing protein levels of phosphorylated p65 and IKK<i>α</i>, and increasing protein levels of I<i>κ</i>B<i>α</i>.