Differential cytokine activity and morphology during wound healing in the neonatal and adult rat skin.
Wound-healing mechanisms change during transition from prenatal to postnatal stage. Cytokines are known to play a key role in this process. The current study investigated the differential cytokine activity and healing morphology during healing of incisional skin wounds in rats of the ages neonatal (p0), 3 days old (p3) and adult, after six different healing times (2 hrs to 30 days). All seven tested cytokines (Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) alpha, TGFbeta1, -beta2 and -beta3, IGF 1, Platelet Derived Growth Factor A (PDGF A), basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) exhibited higher expression in the adult wounds than at the ages p0 and p3. Expression typically peaked between 12 hrs and 3 days post-wounding, and was not detectable any more at days 10 and 30. The neonate specimen showed more rapid re-epithelialization, far less inflammation and scarring, and larger restitution of original tissue architecture than their adult counterparts, resembling a prenatal healing pattern. The results may encourage the use of neonatal rat skin as a wound-healing model for further studies, instead of the more complicated prenatal animal models. Secondly, the data may recommend inhibition of PDGF A, basic FGF or TGF-beta1 as therapeutic targets in efforts to optimize wound healing in the adult organism.
Wagner
W
W
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. w.wagner@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Wehrmann
M
M
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing
D016207:Cytokines; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha