APOPTOSIS DOWN-REGULATES INFLAMMATION UNDER THE ADVANCING EPITHELIAL WOUND EDGE - DELAYED PATTERNS IN DIABETES AND IMPROVEMENT WITH TOPICALGROWTH-FACTORS

Background. Wound healing is involved in many aspects of care, ranging from anastomoses and skin incisions to foot ulcers and decubitus. Cli nical healing failures are a major challenge to the physician and caus e significant morbidity and mortality in select patient populations. A s we are starting to understand more fully the mechanisms of impaired wound healing, the diabetic mouse (C57BL/KsJ-db/db) has been a good mo del for research. The diabetic wound exhibits significant delays in he aling; previously identified as impaired cellular infiltration and gra nulation tissue formation. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is int imately involved in the regulation of inflammation and ultimately shou ld play a role in the inflammatory phase of wound healing. Methods. To examine its role in wound healing patterns of apoptosis in large, ful l-thickness cutaneous wounds were compared between groups of diabetic and nondiabetic mice. Results. Initially apoptosis was mainly limited to the wound edge and followed the advancing epithelial edge toward th e center of the wound as healing progressed. Significant delays in the appearance of the apoptotic pattern were noted in the diabetic mice. Wounds in diabetic mice were then treated with topical application of growth factors. The delay in apoptotic pattern was reversed sed after treatment with the combination of insulin-like growth factor-II and pl atelet-derived growth factor, approaching levels in nondiabetic animal s. Conclusions. Apoptosis appears concurrently with reepithelializatio n of the wound and may signal the end of the inflammatory phase of hea ling at that site in the wound. One can speculate that a signal far ap optosis and down-regulation of inflammation in the wound is derived fr om the epithelium.