Nerve growth factor and burn wound healing: Update of molecular interactions with skin cells

Burn wound healing is a very intricate and complex process that conventionally includes three interrelated and overlapping stages of hemostasis/inflammation, proliferation and remodeling. This review aims to explore the molecular interactions of NGF with the most prominent cell types in the skin and their respective secretory products during wound healing, particularly burn wound healing. Different types of cells such as, nerve cells, endothelial cells, mast cells, macrophages, neutrophils, keratinocytes and fibroblasts all come into play through a plethora of cytokines and growth factors including nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF is a pleiotropic molecule that exerts its effects on all the a…