IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF THE PROTEOGLYCANS DECORIN, BIGLYCAN AND VERSICAN AND TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA IN HUMAN POSTBURN HYPERTROPHIC AND MATURE SCARS

The distributions of the small proteoglycans, decorin and biglycan and the large proteoglycan, versican, in normal skin and post-burn hypert rophic and mature scars, were compared using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to the core proteins, Biglycan and versican were virtually undetectable in normal dermis but readily seen in hypertrophic scars, Staining for decorin was strong throughout the dermis in normal skin but restricted to the deep dermis and a narrow zone under the epidermi s in hypertrophic scar-areas which did not stain for versican. Decorin was absent or reduced in the nodules in these specimens, In mature po st-burn scars, staining for all three proteoglycans demonstrated an in tensity that was intermediate between that in normal dermis and that i n the nodules of the hypertrophic scars, Transforming growth factor-be ta was present in the nodules of hypertrophic scars but the deep dermi s of these specimens stained most intensely for this cytokine which wa s also found in the dermis of mature scars but was not detectable in n ormal dermis. The apparent co-distribution of decorin and transforming growth factor-beta suggests that this proteoglycan may play an active role in the resolution of the scars, Changes in proteoglycan type and distribution could possibly account, at least in part, for the derang ement of collagen and the altered physical properties of hypertrophic scar tissue.