title: The female, red Duroc pig as an animal model of hypertrophic scarring and the potential role of the cones of skin.
abstract: Hypertrophic scarring occurs after deep dermal wounds. Our understanding of the etiology is poor; one reason is the lack of an animal model. In 1972, Silverstein described scarring in the Duroc pig but the model was never confirmed nor disproved. Another reason, as we previously suggested, is that hypertrophic scarring only occurs within regions of human skin that contain cones and the cones have not been studied in relation to hypertrophic scarring. We, therefore (i) explored healing in the female, red Duroc model for similarities to human hypertrophic scarring, studying wound thickness, appearance, healing status at 3 weeks, histology, and immunocytochemical localization of decorin, versican, TGFbeta1 and IGF-1; and (ii) examined Duroc skin for cones. We found that healing after deep wounds in Duroc pigs is similar, but not identical, to human hypertrophic scarring. We also found that Duroc skin contains cones. Healing in the female, red Duroc pig is sufficiently similar to human hypertrophic scarring to warrant further study so that it can be accepted or rejected as a model of human hypertrophic scarring. In addition, the relationship of the cones to hypertrophic scarring needs further detail and can be studied in this model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, 325 Ninth Avenue, 98104, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Kathy Q
authors.initials: KQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Loren H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Engrav
authors.forename: Nicole S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Gibran
authors.forename: Jana K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piepkorn
authors.forename: F Frank
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Isik
authors.forename: Gretchen J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Carrougher
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Muangman
authors.forename: Murad Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Yunusov
authors.forename: Tai Mei
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D017439:Cicatrix, Hypertrophic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D058575:Decorin; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D005260:Female; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D023421:Models, Animal; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D053675:Versicans; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans; C546878:DCN protein, human; D058575:Decorin; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D011509:Proteoglycans; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; C508322:VCAN protein, human; D053675:Versicans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I