Bm. Choi et al., CONTROL OF SCARRING IN ADULT WOUNDS USING ANTISENSE TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA-1 OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDES, Immunology and cell biology, 74(2), 1996, pp. 144-150
Adult wounds heal with scar formation, whereas fetal wounds heal witho
ut scarring and with a lesser inflammatory and cytokine response. We r
easoned that a strategy employing antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN
) complementary to transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 mRNA might
decrease the scarring of dermal wounds in the mouse. To evaluate this
concept, we tested the effects of antisense ODN targeted to TGF-beta 1
mRNA by topical application of the ODN on the skin wound. Phosphoroth
ioation of ODN to retard their degradation. When antisense TGF-beta 1
ODN were applied on the wound site, there was a marked reduction of sc
arring compared with a control wound site. This effect of antisense TG
F-beta 1 ODN on scar formation was associated with decreased expressio
n of the TGF-beta 1 gene. However, sense TGF-beta 1 ODN had no effect
on the expression of the TGF-beta 1 gene. In addition, control wounds
healed with excessive fibrosis compared with the antisense-treated wou
nds. In conclusion, our results indicate that antisense TGF-beta 1 ODN
could be used for ameliorating scar formation during wound healing.