title: Tensegrity and plasma for skin regeneration.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mechanical stresses induce variations in tissue tensegrity leading to cell proliferation and differentiation thus contributing to tissue remodelling. Besides mechanical forces, skin remodelling may be induced by the application of plasma, a new type of energy delivery resulting in controlled heat damage. Here we demonstrate that mechanical stress induced by the application of vacuum increases the efficacy of plasma in skin regeneration treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vacuum alone and vacuum plus plasma at different energies were applied to rat skin and biopsies collected at different time intervals after treatments. Skin integrity, collagen arrangement, inflammation and myofibroblast differentiation were assessed by Masson's trichrome staining. Procollagen synthesis was evaluated by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vacuum alone induced significant and temporary alterations in the distribution of collagen bundles, with concomitant procollagen synthesis in the dermis; no myofibroblasts and no signs of inflammation were observed. Vacuum plus plasma determined an important spatial modification of collagen bundles, more intense than vacuum or plasma alone. Significant increase of procollagen synthesis, numerous myofibroblasts but slight sign of inflammation appeared after the treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vacuum mechanically stimulated fibroblasts, producing changes in collagen arrangement and procollagen synthesis. Plasma led to the same effects through thermal damage. Application of a combined treatment consisting in vacuum plus plasma induced more remarkable effects on skin regeneration with relatively low plasma energies and no relevant side effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Forensic Medicine, University of Firenze, Italy. stefania.pacini@unifi.it
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pacini
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morucci
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulisano
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Punzi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology*; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D058626:Plasma Gases