title: Acute ethanol exposure impairs angiogenesis and the proliferative phase of wound healing.
abstract: Acute ethanol exposure represents an increased risk factor for morbidity and mortality associated with surgical or traumatic injury. Despite clinical observations suggesting that ethanol exposure before injury alters tissue repair processes, little direct evidence about the mechanism by which ethanol affects the wound healing process is available. In this study, excisional wounds from female BALB/c mice with or without circulating ethanol levels of 100 mg/dl were used to assess wound closure, angiogenesis, and collagen content. Ethanol exposure resulted in a significant but transient delay in wound closure at day 2 postwounding (28 +/- 4% vs. 17 +/- 1%). In addition, total collagen content was significantly reduced by up to 37% in wounds from ethanol-treated mice compared with controls. The most significant effect of ethanol exposure on wounds was on vascularity because angiogenesis was reduced by up to 61% in wounds from ethanol-treated mice. The reduction in vessel density occurred despite near-normal levels of proangiogenic factors VEGF and FGF-2, suggesting a direct effect of ethanol exposure on endothelial cell function. Further evidence for a direct effect was observed in an in vitro angiogenesis assay because the exposure of endothelial cells to ethanol reduced angiogenic responsiveness to just 8.33% of control in a cord-forming assay. These studies provide novel information regarding the effect of a single dose of ethanol on multiple parameters of the wound healing process in vivo and suggest a potential mechanism by which ethanol impairs healing after traumatic injury.
authors.affiliation: Burn and Shock Trauma Institute, Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 S. First Ave., Maywood, IL 60153, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Radek
authors.forename: Annette M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Matthies
authors.forename: Aime L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.forename: Luisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Dipietro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000503:physiopathology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply / Q000293:injuries / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D000431:Ethanol; D003094:Collagen