Effects of neuropeptides and their local administration to cutaneous wounds in sensory-impaired areas

Abstract

Wound healing in sensory-impaired areas such as diabetic foot and spinal cord injuries is intractable. Previous studies have shown that delayed wound healing both of wound contraction and epithelialization in denervated rat skin. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the wound healing process was affected by the administration of substance P to skin defects and histological analysis in denervated skin. Full thickness circular skin defects 15 mm in diameter were made symmetrically on the denervated area and the normal innervated area, and substance P and vehicle was administered over a period of 3 days by injecting with a syringe. The rate of wound contraction and epithelialization were measured. The wound surface area in saline injections were larger than the group of substance P injections in denervated area and controls (p < 0.05) on day 3. Wound healing in local administration of substance P to denervated skin defect was equal to in normal animals. It seems that the presence of substance P in the wound area positively affects the early stages of wound healing.

Key Words::

• Sensory-impaired areas
• substance P
• local administration
• epithelialization
• wound contraction

Acknowledgement

This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (22592001) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. We thank Mrs Yumiko Sone (Kitasato University School of Medicine) for her skilful support.