BPC 157

Pentadecapeptide BPC 157, composed of 15 amino acids, is a partial sequence of body protection compound (BPC) that is discovered in and isolated from human gastric juice.

Experimentally it has been demonstrated to accelerate the healing of many different wounds,including transected rat Achilles tendon.

BPC 157 markedly increased the in vitro migration of tendon fibroblasts in a dose-dependent manner as revealed by transwell filter migration assay.

BPC 157 also dose dependently accelerated the spreading of tendon fibroblasts on culture dishes.

The F-actin formation as detected by FITC-phalloidin staining was induced in BPC 157-treated fibroblasts.

The protein expression and activation of FAK and paxillin were determined by Western blot analysis, and the phosphorylation levels of both FAK and paxillin were dose dependently increased by BPC 157 while the total amounts of protein was unaltered.

In conclusion, BPC 157 promotes the ex vivo outgrowth of tendon fibroblasts from tendon explants, cell survival under stress, and the in vitro migration of tendon fibroblasts, which is likely mediated by the activation of the FAK-paxillin pathway.