A review of electrocoupling mechanisms mediating facilitated wound healing

The role of electrical interaction in wound healing has been recognized for nearly half of the last century. Based on the notion that wound healing may be facilitated by using electrical stimulation (referred to as electrotherapy), numerous animal model studies and clinical trials have been carried out to establish the effectiveness of electrotherapy. In spite of the concentrated effort, however, electrotherapy has not been approved by the U.S. FDA and remains poorly understood. Elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms mediating facilitated wound healing is likely required, before rational electrotherapy can be devised and successfully implemented. Over the past six years, we have performed a series of in vitro experiments designed to identify the mechanisms mediating the cellular effects induced by exogenous application of electrical stimulation. The purpose of this review is to provide a description for such mechanisms (i.e., electrocoupling mechanisms) and to formulate an integrated model for these coupling mechanisms.