title: Ulcerative dermatitis in C57BL/6 mice exhibits an oxidative stress response consistent with normal wound healing.
abstract: Ulcerative dermatitis (UD) is a common syndrome of unknown etiology that results in profound morbidity in C57BL/6 mice and lines on a C57BL/6 background. The lesions are due to severe pruritus-induced self-trauma, progressing from superficial excoriations to deep ulcerations. UD may  be behavioral in origin, with ulcerative lesions resulting from self-mutilating behavior in response to unresolved inflammation or compulsion. Alternatively, abnormal oxidative damage may be a mechanism underlying UD. To evaluate whether UD behaves similarly to normal wounds, consistent with  a secondary self-inflicted lesion, or is a distinct disorder with abnormal wound response, we evaluated expression levels of genes representing various arms of the oxidative stress response pathway UD-affected and unwounded C57BL/6J mice. No evidence indicated that UD wounds have a defect  in the oxidative stress response. Our findings are consistent with an understanding of C57BL/6 UD lesions as typical rather than atypical wounds.
authors: Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. lisawilliams@mednet.ucla.edu
authors: Lisa K
authors: LK
authors: Williams
authors: Lauren S
authors: LS
authors: Csaki
authors: Rita M
authors: RM
authors: Cantor
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Reue
authors: Greg W
authors: GW
authors: Lawson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014945:Wound Healing