Abstract: Objective To explore the effects of different concentrations of putrescine on the proliferation, migration and
apoptosis of human skin fibroblasts (HSF). Methods HSF cultured in the presence of 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 μg/
ml putrescine for 24 h were examined for the changes in the cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis using MTS assay,
Transwell migration assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. Results Compared with the control cells, HSF cultured with 0.5,
1.0, 5.0, and 10 μg/ml putrescine showed significantly increased cell proliferation (P<0.01), and the effect was the most obvious
with 1 μg/ml putrescine, whereas 500 and 1000 μg/ml putrescine significantly reduced the cell proliferation (P<0.01); 50 and
100 μg/ml did not obviously affect the cell proliferation (P>0.05). Putrescine at 1 μg/ml most significantly enhanced the cell
migration (P<0.01), while at higher doses (50, 100, 500, and 1000 μg/ml) putrescine significantly suppressed the cell migration
(P<0.05); 0.5, 5.0, and 10 μg/ml putrescine produced no obvious effects on the cell migration (P>0.05). HSF treated with 0.5, 1.0,
5.0, and 10 μg/ml putrescine obvious lowered the cell apoptosis rate compared with the control group (P<0.01), and the cell
apoptosis rate was the lowest in cells treated with 1 μg/ml putrescine; but at the concentrations of 100, 500, and 1000 μg/ml,
putrescine significantly increased the cell apoptosis rate (P<0.01), while 50 μg/ml putrescine produced no obvious effect on cell
apoptosis (P>0.05). Conclusion Low concentrations of putrescine can obviously enhance the proliferation ability and maintain
normal migration ability of HSF in vitro, but at high concentrations, putrescine can obviously inhibit the cell migration and
proliferation and induce cells apoptosis, suggesting the different roles of different concentrations of putrescine in wound
healing.