Wound Healing Is Accelerated by Agonists of Adenosine A₂ (G_αs-linked) Receptors

The complete healing of wounds is the final step in a highly regulated response to injury. Although many of the molecular mediators and cellular events of healing are known, their manipulation for the enhancement and acceleration of wound closure has not proven practical as yet. We and others have established that adenosine is a potent regulator of the inflammatory response, which is a component of wound healing. We now report that ligation of the G_αs-linked adenosine receptors on the cells of an artificial wound dramatically alters the kinetics of wound closure. Excisional wound closure in normal, healthy mice was significantly accelerated by topical application of the specific A_2A receptor agonist CGS-21680 (50% closure by day 2 in A₂ receptor antagonists. In rats rendered diabetic (streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus) wound healing was impaired as compared to nondiabetic rats; CGS-21680 significantly increased the rate of wound healing in both nondiabetic and diabetic rats. Indeed, the rate of wound healing in the CGS-21680–treated diabetic rats was greater than or equal to that observed in untreated normal rats. These results appear to constitute the first evidence that a small molecule, such as an adenosine receptor agonist, accelerates wound healing in both normal animals and in animals with impaired wound healing.