ISSN:
1524-475X
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
We describe here a new animal model designed to assess the impact of ischemia on wound healing. Among eight patterns of arterial lesion, resection of the external iliac artery down to the femoral artery at the level of the knee was chosen as the reference model, and was performed on the left limb in 24 Wistar rats. The right limb was sham operated and was used as a control. Skin wounds measuring 1.2 × 0.8 cm were created bilaterally on the dorsal aspect of the foot. Blood flow, measured by laser Doppler flowmetry, decreased by over 90% in the ischemic limb after arterial lesion. A significant delay in wound closure was observed with a measurable decrease in wound contraction. Quantification of myofibroblasts by means of α-smooth muscle actin staining showed a significant delay in the appearance and a decrease in the number of myofibroblasts. These findings suggest that decreased wound contraction plays an important role in delayed ischemic wound healing, probably due to reduced myofibroblast development and activity. The model we have developed may also be useful for further investigating other mechanisms of wound healing, for testing pharmaceutical agents and for the study of the impact of pathological conditions such as hypertension or diabetes mellitus.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1067-1927.2005.130117v.x
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