Nerve Growth Factor and Oligopeptide‑215 Accelerate Endothelial Wound Closure in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells Scratch Assays

This study evaluates whether nerve growth factor (NGF) and Oligopeptide‑215 (O‑215) accelerate endothelial wound closure in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Endothelial monolayers were wounded using pipette‑tip scratches or the Agilent xCELLigence RTCA eSight system, then treated with NGF, O‑215, solvent controls, or combined NGF + O‑215. Gap closure was quantified over time using ImageJ, with normalization by nuclear density. In pilot assays, both NGF and O‑215 increased wound‑closure rates relative to controls, with O‑215 showing a pro‑healing effect comparable to NGF. Combined treatment showed a slight trend toward faster closure, though limited replicates prevented definitive conclusions. Follow‑up experiments using the eSight system demonstrated more consistent acceleration of wound healing with NGF and O‑215. Limitations included variable scratch geometry, small sample sizes, and limited concentration testing. Future work will incorporate standardized wound induction, expanded dose‑response matrices, and synergy analyses to determine whether O‑215 can serve as a practical alternative or complement to NGF in promoting endothelial repair.