Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Studies have confirmed that nerve growth factor can promote wound tissue to release all kinds of endogenous growth factors and growth factor receptors, which play a positive regulatory role. The nerve growth factor can promote cell proliferation and accelerate wound healing, thus making the wound healing developed from the passive waiting healing to active control healing.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of local application of nerve growth factor on the expressions of transforming growth factor β1 and basic fibroblast growth factor in rat burn wounds.

METHODS:Twenty-four adult Sprague Dawley rats were used in the study, and Ⅱ degree deep burn wound was made on the back of rats. Then, these rats were randomly divided into four groups. After burn wound debridement, the wounds were covered with gauzes containing 1, 2.5 and 5 μg/mL nerve growth factor solution and normal saline respectively. At 3, 5, 9 and 14 days after treatment, the wound healing time and percentage of residual wound were observed. Then, wound tissues were cut for histological examination, in order to detect the expressions of transforming growth factor β1 and basic fibroblast growth factor in wounds, as well as the cellular DNA cycle.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The wound healing time in the treatment groups was shorter than that in the control group, especially in 5 ug/mL nerve growth factor treatment group (P < 0.01), and the percentage of residual wound in the treatment groups was less than that in the control group. The histological examination showed the number of nucleated cells in the superficial dermis of the treatment groups was significant increased when compared with that in the control group; the expressions of transforming growth factor β1and basic fibroblast growth factor in the treatment groups at different time points were stronger than those in the control group, and the expressions at 5 and 9 days were stronger than those at 3 and 14 days; percentage of cells in S phase of the treatment groups was significantly increased, especially in 5 mg/L nerve growth factor group (P < 0.01). The results indicate that local application of nerve growth factor can accelerate wound healing by increasing the expressions of transforming growth factor β1 and basic fibroblast growth factor, stimulating mitosis and promoting proliferation.

Key words: tissue construction, tissue construction and bioactive factors, nerve growth factor, burn wound, transforming growth factor β1, basic fibroblast growth factor, wound healing, rats, wound healing time, percentage of residual wound, cell proliferation, cellular DNA cycle