Wound healing in nude mice: a study on the regulatory role of lymphocytes in fibroplasia.
In order to understand the role of T cells in postinjury fibroplasia, we have studied wound healing in congenitally athymic nude mice that lack a normally developed T cell system. Healing of incisional wounds, as assessed by wound breaking strength, was significantly stronger in nude mice compared with normal thymus-bearing animals. This was accompanied by a marked increase in the amount of reparative collagen synthesized at the wound site, as assessed by the hydroxyproline content of subcutaneously implanted sponges. Because nude mice have some extrathymic T cell maturation, we used an anti-Thy-1.2 (30H12) monoclonal antibody to selectively deplete T cells in vivo. Although such treatments impaired wound healing in normal mice, they had no effect on any wound healing parameter in nude mice. In a separate experiment, T cell reconstitution of nude mice, sufficient to significantly enhance in vivo delayed hypersensitivity responses, led to a decrease in both wound breaking strength and hydroxyproline deposition in subcutaneously implanted polyvinyl sponges. The data suggest that T cells play a dual role in wound healing: an early stimulatory role on macrophages, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts, and a late counterregulatory role, which may be responsible for the orderly completion of wound repair.
Barbul
A
A
Department of Surgery, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Md.
Shawe
T
T
Rotter
S M
SM
Efron
J E
JE
Wasserkrug
H L
HL
Badawy
S B
SB
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006909:Hydroxyproline / Q000032:analysis; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D012867:Skin / Q000503:physiopathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D013718:Tensile Strength; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology; D013997:Time Factors; D014945:Wound Healing
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006909:Hydroxyproline