The influence of growth factors on skin wound healing in rats

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: Healing is a process that restores the physical integrity of body structures. It is a dynamic, complex, multicellular process that involves the extracellular matrix, cytokines, blood cells, and growth factors. Growth factors are proteins that activate and stimulate cell proliferation through the activation of angiogenesis, mitogenesis, and gene transcription, accelerating the healing process. OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of growth factors on the healing process of wounds made on the backs of female rats compared to the control wound, through macro and microscopy. METHODS: This study used 45 female Wistar rats, in which three wounds were made on the back. The first was the control wound, the second received epithelial growth factor injection, and the third received a combination of factors. Macroscopic and microscopic assessments were performed on the third, seventh, and 15th days of the experiment. For microscopic analysis, hematoxylin-eosin staining was utilized to assess the inflammatory process; vimentin, for assessment of blood vessels and fibroblasts, and Sirius Red for collagen assessment. RESULTS: In the macroscopic assessment, the use of growth factors resulted in faster healing and decrease of granulation tissue on days seven and 15; (80.31% reduction in the control wound vs. 83.24% in the epithelial wound vs. 100% in the mixed wound). Utilizing microscopy, at the three stages of the experiment, there were no significant differences between the three wounds; however, when comparing the day of euthanization for each type of wound, there was a favorable outcome for epithelial and mixed wounds (between the third vs. 15th day, p引言：机体愈合是恢复身体组织结构生理完整性的过程。该过程是动态且复杂的多细胞生理活动，涉及细胞外基质、细胞因子、血细胞及生长因子。生长因子是一类可通过激活血管生成、有丝分裂及基因转录，活化并刺激细胞增殖，进而加速愈合进程的蛋白质。研究目的：本研究旨在通过宏观与微观评估，对比生长因子对雌性大鼠背部伤口愈合进程的影响，并以空白伤口作为对照。研究方法：本研究共纳入45只雌性Wistar大鼠（Wistar rats），在每只大鼠背部制作三处伤口：第一处为空白对照伤口，第二处注射上皮生长因子，第三处注射复合生长因子。分别于实验第3、7、15天开展宏观与微观评估。微观分析采用苏木精-伊红（hematoxylin-eosin）染色法评估炎症进程；采用波形蛋白（vimentin）染色法观测血管与成纤维细胞；采用天狼星红（Sirius Red）染色法评估胶原状态。研究结果：宏观评估结果显示，在实验第7天与第15天，使用生长因子可加速伤口愈合并减少肉芽组织生成：空白对照伤口肉芽组织减少80.31%，上皮生长因子处理伤口减少83.24%，复合生长因子处理伤口减少100%。微观评估方面，实验三个时间节点下，三类伤口之间均未出现显著差异；但针对每类伤口的安乐处死时间节点进行对比时，上皮生长因子与复合生长因子处理伤口均呈现出更优的愈合效果（第3天vs第15天，p