Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 cream improves burn-wound healing and attenuates burn-gastric lesions in mice.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Preclinical animal study
PubMed 11718984 · doi:10.1016/s0305-4179(01)00055-9
What was done
Mice received deep partial-thickness burns covering 20% of total body surface area via direct flame exposure (5 or 7 seconds). BPC 157 was administered immediately post-injury and once daily thereafter either topically as a cream (doses ranging from 5 ng to 50 µg in 50 g vehicle) or systemically via intraperitoneal injection (10 ng/kg or 10 µg/kg). Comparators included untreated controls, vehicle cream, intraperitoneal distilled water, and 1% silver sulfadiazine cream. Wound healing parameters (histology, tensiometry, water content, re-epithelialization) and burn-induced gastric lesions were evaluated at days 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 21 post-burn.
What was found
The abstract reports directional and histological outcomes without specific numerical values. Compared to controls, topical BPC 157 cream decreased edema, necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, and skin water content, while increasing capillary count, follicle preservation, dermal reticulin/collagen formation, and skin breaking strength and elongation. Poor re-epithelialization was fully reversed by day 14 in BPC 157 cream groups. Intraperitoneal BPC 157 similarly reduced inflammatory infiltration and water content while improving skin tensiometry. Silver sulfadiazine improved collagen formation and reduced inflammation but did not improve tensiometric properties. Both topical and intraperitoneal BPC 157 consistently attenuated burn-induced gastric lesions across all tested doses, whereas silver sulfadiazine and vehicle did not.
Why it matters
This study provides preclinical evidence that the peptide BPC 157 can simultaneously accelerate dermal burn wound repair and prevent systemic burn-induced gastric ulceration in mice.
Limits
The study is restricted to a murine model, limiting direct translation to human burn care. The abstract does not report the total sample size (n), quantitative numerical measurements, or statistical confidence intervals. Potential systemic absorption mechanisms and long-term scar quality beyond 21 days were not detailed.
Cited by
- supports In animal models, BPC-157 accelerates healing after tendon transection and ACL transection, and topically prevents gastric ulceration in burn wound models.