Recombinant Humanized Collagen Type III Accelerated Palate Wound Healing by Regulating the Fibroblast Behavior via Focal Adhesion Signaling Pathway

in this study. A mouse model of an oral palate wound was established, and rhCol III solutions were injected periwound, resulting in a significant acceleration in wound healing compared to the control groups. Histological evaluation showed that rhCol III promoted angiogenesis, collagen deposition, and cell proliferation. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that rhCol III could promote human gingival fibroblast (HGF) and human oral keratinocyte (HOK) proliferation, adhesion, and migration. To further explore the mechanism, RNA-sequencing analysis results showed that rhCol III could regulate the focal adhesion signaling pathway of HGFs. The expression of vinculin and phosphorylation of FAK (Tyr397 and Tyr576) in HGFs was upregulated with rhCol III treatment. In addition, inhibition of FAK phosphorylation could inhibit HGF migration. These results suggested that rhCol III promoted HGF migration by upregulating the focal adhesion signaling pathway. These findings suggest that the topical application of rhCol III is a promising treatment for oral soft tissue wounds with the potential for future clinical use.