Plasma Proteins and Wound Healing

In response to injury, the concentrations of several plasma proteins are characteristically altered. In part, these changes reflect an essential contribution of many of these proteins, acting in concert, to the processes involved in wound healing. There is evidence that plasma proteins support tissue repair by metabolic as well as functional activity. Specifically, plasma proteins may directly facilitate wound healing by: provision of carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids in a usable form as biosynthetic precursors and energetic substrates; the transport of trace metal cofactors involved in various wound repair processes; adhesion of regenerating tissue; modulation of the rate of structural protein synthesis; alignment of collagen subunits; organization of cellular elements wound repair; prevention of autoimmune reactions; hormone transport and local modulation of hormonal effects; neutralization of the potentially toxic products of the inflammatory response and the inhibition of microbial invasion and colonization.