Inorganic Polyphosphates Are Important For Cell Survival And Motility Of Human Skin Keratinocytes And Play A Role In Wound Healing

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a simple ancient polymer of linear chains of orthophosphate residues linked by high energy phospho-anhydride bonds ubiquitously found in all organisms. Despite its structural simplicity, it plays diverse functional roles. polyP is involved in myriad of processes including serving as microbial phosphagens, buffer against alkalis, Ca2+ storage, metal-chelating agents, pathogen virulence, cell viability and proliferation, structural component and chemical chaperones, and in the microbial stress response. In mammalian cells, polyP has been implicated in blood coagulation, inflammation, bone differentiation, cell bioenergetics, signal transduction, Ca2+-signaling, neuronal excitability, as a protein-stabilizing scaffold, and in wound healing, among others. This chapter will discuss (1) polyP metabolism and roles of polyP in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, (2) the contribution of polyP to survival, cell proliferation, and motility involved in wound healing in human skin keratinocytes, (3) the use of polyP-containing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to promote wound healing in acute and chronic wounds, including burns, and (4) the use of polyP-containing PRP in excisional wound models to promote faster healing. While polyP shows promise as a therapeutic agent to accelerate healing for acute and chronic wounds, the molecular mechanisms as a potent modulator of the wound healing process remain to be elucidated.