The compound losartan cream inhibits scar formation via TGF-β/Smad pathway

Abstract

The role of angiotensin receptor blocker in wound healing and cutaneous fibrosis has become a hotspot in recent years. We have developed a losartan cream that is comparable to triamcinolone ointment in inhibiting scarring. Considering the effects of chitosan and asiaticoside on wound healing and scarring, we added them to the losartan cream this time and improved the formula, expecting to get a better anti-scarring effect. The effects of creams were investigated on mouse scar model with triamcinolone ointment, onion extract gel, and commercial asiaticoside cream set as positive controls. A preliminary exploration of the mechanism involved in TGF-β/Smad pathway was performed in vivo and in vitro. With all results of anti-scarring, the compound losartan cream (containing chitosan, asiaticoside, and losartan) shows the best effect, followed by the chitosan asiaticoside cream. The treatment of the compound losartan cream inhibited expression of TGF-β1, collagen, and Smads, and decreased phosphorylation of Smad in vivo. These inhibitory effects were also confirmed in vitro. Our findings indicated that the compound losartan cream could inhibit scarring via TGF-β/Smad pathway. This cream might be an effective option for scar treatment.