Abstract
Background Although Botulinum Toxin Type A (BTXA) has been applied to scar prevention and treatment, the mechanisms still require further exploration. Objective To investigate the effects of BTXA on microvessels in the hypertrophic scar models on rabbit ears. Methods Eight big-eared New Zealand rabbits (males or females) were selected to establish scar models. One ear of each rabbit (4 models in each ear) was selected randomly to be injected with BTXA immediately after modeling and included in the treated group, while the opposite ear was untreated and included in the control group. The growth of scars in each group was observed and recorded, and 4 rabbits were sacrificed on days 30 and 45 after modeling. Then, scar height was measured by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was detected by immunohistochemical (IHC) testing, and microvessel density (MVD) was calculated based on CD34 (human hematopoietic progenitor cell antigen). Results The wounds in each group were well healed and free from infection or necrosis. On days 30 and 45, the scar height, MVD value, and VEGF expression in the treated group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). For the treated group, the above indicators on day 45 were lower than on day 30 (P > 0.05). Besides, there was a positive correlation between the MVD value and the VEGF expression in the treated group (P < 0.05). Conclusion The injection of BTXA immediately after modeling inhibits VEGF expression and reduces angiogenesis, thereby inhibiting hypertrophic scar formation.
Highlights
As a pathological scar generally caused by burns, injuries, and surgery, the hypertrophic scar (HS) can affect the life quality of patients both physically and psychologically, for which reason it has long been a great challenge for clinicians
Botulinum Toxin Type A (BTXA) has been successively reported to be effective in scar prevention and treatment [1,2,3,4,5,6], but the studies on related mechanisms mainly focus on BTXA inhibiting fibroblast generation, promoting apoptosis, and reducing collagen deposition [7, 8], and there were few reports on its effects on microvessels
As studies have shown that the hyperplasia of scar tissue is closely related to microvessel density (MVD) and microcirculatory blood flow [9], could BTXA be effective in scar prevention and treatment by inhibiting angiogenesis? This study was performed to determine the effects of BTXA
Summary
As a pathological scar generally caused by burns, injuries, and surgery, the hypertrophic scar (HS) can affect the life quality of patients both physically and psychologically, for which reason it has long been a great challenge for clinicians. As studies have shown that the hyperplasia of scar tissue is closely related to MVD and microcirculatory blood flow [9], could BTXA be effective in scar prevention and treatment by inhibiting angiogenesis? This study was performed to determine the effects of BTXA on blood vessels in HS by detecting the VEGF expression and MVD in the HS on rabbit ears injected with BTXA. To investigate the effects of BTXA on microvessels in the hypertrophic scar models on rabbit ears. On days 30 and 45, the scar height, MVD value, and VEGF expression in the treated group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0:05). The injection of BTXA immediately after modeling inhibits VEGF expression and reduces angiogenesis, thereby inhibiting hypertrophic scar formation
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