Volume 30, Issue 170, April 2026

The complexity of nicotine’s effect on cutaneous wound healing

Jakub Jaworski^♦, Ewelina Komorowska, Natalia Kriese, Jakub Szyszkowski, Tomasz Kucharski, Brygida Tucka, Zuzanna Zgrzywa, Izabella Zawadzka, Paulina Wądołowska, Bartłomiej Kowalski

Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Jakub Jaworski, Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland

ABSTRACT

Nicotine, mostly known through its association with tobacco, has long been regarded as straightforwardly harmful - addictive and vasoconstrictive. Yet a growing number of studies have begun to complicate that picture, revealing a range of physiological effects that are far less predictable than once assumed. Over the years, multiple contradictory studies have emerged, a few suggesting that nicotine, under certain circumstances, can be beneficial – especially for angiogenesis. In this review, we aim to supply a comprehensive summary of the most significant effects of nicotine on cutaneous wound healing. We focus on key components of this process, including keratinocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, inflammation, and the crucial cellular events of proliferation, differentiation, and migration.

Keywords: nicotine, skin, wound healing, fibroblasts, inflammation, angiogenesis

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e78ms3834

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v30i170.e78ms3834

Published: 25 April 2026