title: Methane-rich saline attenuates ischemia/reperfusion injury of abdominal skin flaps in rats via regulating apoptosis level.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In plastic surgery, skin damage induced by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is a multifactorial process that often occurs. Methane gas has been reported to be a new therapeutic gas for attenuating I/R injury. In this study, we assessed the effects of methane-rich saline (MRS) in regulating apoptosis on skin flap I/R injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats, 6-8 weeks old, were divided randomly into three groups: one sham surgery group (SH) and two surgery groups. After undergoing 6 h of I/R management of an abdominal skin flap, surgery groups were treated with physiological saline (I/R-P) or methane-rich saline (I/R-M). On the 3rd postoperative day, a laser Doppler flowmeter was used to measure flap blood supply, and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to observe morphological changes. TdT-mediated dUTP-X nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was also used to observe early apoptosis and is presented as the percentage of TUNEL-positive cells. Moreover, pASK-1, pJNK, Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by immunohistochemical technology. Caspase-3 activity was also measured to evaluate the effects of MRS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to the I/R-P group, the flaps in the I/R-M group presented a larger survival area and better blood perfusion with less inflammatory infiltration and cell apoptosis, a higher expression of Bcl-2, a lower expression of pASK-1, pJNK and Bax, and a lower caspase-3 activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the results, MRS attenuated I/R injury by regulating apoptosis and has the potential to be applied as a new therapy for improving skin flap survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kexin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mingzi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Qingdao Huangdao District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jianqiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yunqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yifang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China. wybenz@sina.com.
authors.forename: Youbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D008297:Male; D008697:Methane; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000166:cytology; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D012965:Sodium Chloride; C116037:PAS domain kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D053148:Caspase 3; D008697:Methane