Effect of heparinized sheep acellular dermal matrix on vascular endothelial growth factor and laminin in deep partial-thickness burn wound tissue

Abstract

Objective To investigate the mechanism of heparin-selective sheep acellular dermal matrix in healing wound healing of deep partial-thickness burn. Methods Rat deep partial-thickness models were made and randomly divided into iodophor gauze group, pig acellular dermal matrix (ADM) group, sheep ADM group and heparinized sheep ADM group, each group of 40 rats. The wound healing rate in the group was also sacrificed at various time points. Eight rats were killed at different times. The wound tissue samples were taken for RT-qPCR and Western-blotting to detect vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and laminin(LN) in the wound tissues of each group. Data were processed with one-way analysis of variance and t test. Results The wound healing rate of the heparinized sheep ADM group in the treatment was better than that of the iodophor gauze group. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the expression of VEGF in the wound tissue at 3 days post-operation after scald in each group was higher than in the control group. The comparison between the groups showed that the expression of VEGF in heparinized sheep ADM group was significantly higher than that in iodophor group (t=80.83, P<0.05). The sheep ADM group and the pig ADM group were also higher than the iodophor group at 7 days post-operation (t=60.80, 53.42; with P values below 0.05). Western-blotting was used to detect the VEGF wound in the heparinized sheep ADM group. At 3 days post-operation, the expression was more, and then gradually decreased. At 21 days post-operation, the protein expression was less. At 3 days post-operation, the expression of LN in the iodophor group decreased significantly. During the subsequent treatment, the expression of LN gradually recovered, and the expression level at 14 days post-operation was significantly higher than that at 3 days post-operation group (t=19.5, P<0.001). The expression levels of 21 days post-operation and 28 days post-operation were not significantly different from those of 14 days post-operation. The Western-blotting showed that the LN of the heparinized sheep ADM group began to increase gradually at 3 days post-operation after the wound surface, and the protein expression appeared more on the 21 days post-operation. Conclusion Heparinized sheep ADM can protect the wound surface and promote the expression of VEGF and LN in the wound tissue, which in turn promotes wound healing. Key words: Heparin; Burns; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Laminin; Sheepskin acellular dermal matrix