BPC-157 and wound healing - Summary of Recent Research

This article specifically focuses on one clinical study using BPC-157 ( Body protective compound-157 enhances alkali-burn wound healing in vivo and promotes proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in vitro by Huang T., et al., published April/2015). Below is a summary of the study’s goals, methods, and results. 

This particular study was initiated in order to obtain a better understanding of the effects, if any, BPC-157 had on dermatological wound recovery on rodents. This narrowly constructed study was developed based on developing evidence that peptides, like BPC-157, may play a role in wound healing. The authors detail other studies which demonstrate BPC-157’s functions within an organism, such as anti-inflammatory effects, anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects, improving angiogenesis, and many others. From that, it was broadly  stated that “BPC-157 appears to be beneficial to almost all organ systems…at very low dosages.”

This study sought to investigate the wound healing effects of BPC-157 on rats and to determine its mechanism of action.

The subject rats were split into five groups. One group was treated with hydrogel alone, the second, with 200ng/mL of bFGF (previously shown to be effective in treating wound injuries) the third with 200ng/mL of BPC-157, the fourth with 400ng/mL of BPC-157 and the last, with 800ng/mL of BPC-157. The dosages were applied topically over 18 days. To measure the results, the experimenters  performed histological examination, cell culture observation,  cell proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, transwell assay, would healing assay, and Endothelial cell tube formation assay. 

The study concluded that BPC-157 accelerated wound closure in the rats. Rats treated with either bFGF or BPC-157 showed significantly faster wound repair than untreated rats. By day 18, the group treated with BPC-157 demonstrated an almost 80% wound closure, compared to the untreated group, which recovered by at most 60%. Additionally, the researchers specifically noted variances in how the cells appeared compared to the untreated group, specifically noting better granulation tissue formation and dermal remodeling. 

Gene expression analysis also showed that there were eight genes that were repressed/induced twice more in the BPC-157 group compared to the untreated group.  They determined that BPC-157 may exert wound healing activity by upregulating the expression of VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor).

In conclusion, their findings may provide support for the potential use of BPC-157 as a wound-healing agent.