title: Controlled delivery of bFGF to recipient bed enhances the vascularization and viability of an ischemic skin flap.
abstract: Therapeutic angiogenesis is a promising approach to treat ischemic skin flaps. We delivered basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to the recipient bed of a rat dorsal skin flap by a drug delivery system with acidic gelatin hydrogel microspheres (AGHMs), and assessed augmentation of neovascularization and flap viability. An axial skin flap was elevated on the back of male Sprague-Dawley rats, and bFGF solution or bFGF-impregnated AGHMs were injected into the recipient bed. The dose of bFGF in the bFGF solution was set to 15 (Sol-15 group), 50 (Sol-50 group), or 150 mug (Sol-150 group). Correspondingly, 2 mg AGHMs were impregnated with 15 (AGHM-15 group), 50 (AGHM-50 group), or 150 mug (AGHM-150 group) bFGF. Other groups of animals received phosphate-buffered saline (Sol-Cont group) or phosphate-buffered saline-impregnated AGHMs (AGHM-Cont group) as controls. Seven days later, analyses of the area of necrosis, microangiographic findings, and histological findings in the flap were carried out. The area of necrosis in the AGHM-150 group was significantly smaller than that in the other groups. Microangiographic and histological analyses showed that neovascularization of the ischemic skin flap significantly increased in the AGHM-150 group as compared with the Sol-150 group and the AGHM-Cont group. These findings suggest that continuous delivery of bFGF to the recipient bed by bFGF-impregnated AGHMs enhances the viability of an ischemic skin flap.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujihara
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohba
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Hisako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujihara
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yonehara
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takato
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D020100:Hydrogels; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007511:Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008863:Microspheres; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D014022:Tissue Survival / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2