Sulphydryl Compounds and Wound Repair

Historical foundations of wound healing and its potential for acceleration: dose‐response considerations

“…Acceleration of wound healing was demonstrated by Sutton for both the rat and rabbit studies, with it being 18 and 21%, respectively. A similar study by Riley with rabbits demonstrated that cysteine gave a 30–40% accelerated wound healing as determined by a wound surface area calculation.…”

“…These findings were, in part, designed to provide a link back to the research of Carrel with the stimulatory effects of embryo juice on wounds. According to Riley embryo juice is too difficult to prepare and loses its biological effectiveness quickly. There was therefore the desire to find active agents within the juice that could be tested separately.…”

Hyperactivation of fibroplasia by the transferable sulphur in wound healing

“…The results of the above investigations showed a stimulating effect of glutathione and other thiol compounds on either total growth or on some special components of the growth process such as the mitotic apparatus. Some organic compounds containing thiol groups and especially thiourea, increase the fibroblastic activity by stimulation of mitosis [3,4,7]. No clear explanation, however, can as yet be given as to why the mechanism of wound healing is significantly accelerated by thiourea, since there has been no experimental studies on this topic.…”

“…The possible mechanism of polimerization of mitotic apparatus during cell division appears dependent on the synchronous changes of soluble thiol level and on the concentration of protein bound thiols in glutathione cycle [8,6]. Growth promotion by thiol compounds and inhibition by its oxidized derivatives have in the past been consistently reported [7]. The results of the above investigations showed a stimulating effect of glutathione and other thiol compounds on either total growth or on some special components of the growth process such as the mitotic apparatus.…”