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Chronic Venous Ulcers (chronic + venous_ulcer)
Selected AbstractsTransforming growth factor-beta 1, 2, 3 and receptor type I and II in diabetic foot ulcersDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 6 2002E. B. Jude Abstract Aims To study the distribution of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-,) 1, 2 and 3, and TGF-, receptor types I and II in diabetic foot ulcers, diabetic skin and normal skin by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and Western blotting. We also compared the TGF-,s with those of chronic venous ulcers. Methods Skin biopsies were obtained from the leg or the foot of non-diabetic and diabetic subjects, and from the edge of diabetic foot ulcers and chronic venous ulcers. Distribution (by immunofluorescence and immunocytochemistry) of TGF-, 1, 2 and 3 and TGF-, receptors (RI and RII) was done by staining 8-µm skin sections using appropriate antibodies. Protein levels of TGF-, were measured by Western blot analysis. Results TGF-,3 expression was increased in the epithelium at the edge of diabetic foot ulcers, being more intense than diabetic and normal skin (P = 0.03, 0.02, respectively), as was its expression in venous ulcers compared with normal skin. However, TGF-,1 expression was not increased in diabetic foot ulcers and chronic venous ulcers, and was comparable to diabetic and normal skin. There was also no increase for the receptors in diabetic foot ulcers. Conclusion The lack of TGF-,1 up-regulation in both diabetic foot ulcers and venous ulcers may explain the impaired healing in these chronic wounds, and could represent a general pattern for chronicity. [source] Differential expression of antimicrobial peptides in margins of chronic woundsEXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2010Stefanie Dressel Please cite this paper as: Differential expression of antimicrobial peptides in margins of chronic wounds. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 628,632. Abstract:, Skin wounds usually heal without major infections, although the loss of the mechanical epithelial barrier exposes the tissue to various bacteria. One reason may be the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) of which some [human ,-defensins (hBD) and LL-37] were recently shown to support additionally certain steps of wound healing. There are no studies which have compared expression patterns of different classes of AMP in chronic wounds. The aim of our study was therefore to analyse the expression profile of hBD-2, hBD-3, LL-37, psoriasin and RNase 7 by immunohistochemistry from defined wound margins of chronic venous ulcers. We detected a strong induction of psoriasin and hBD-2 in chronic wounds in comparison with healthy skin. Except for stratum corneum, no expression of RNase 7 and LL-37 was detected in the epidermis while expression of hBD-3 was heterogeneous. Bacterial swabs identified Staphylococcus aureus and additional bacterial populations, but no association between colonization and AMP expression was found. The differential expression of AMP is noteworthy considering the high bacterial load of chronic ulcers. Clinically, supplementation of AMP with the capability to enhance wound healing besides restricting bacterial overgrowth could present a physiological support for treatment of disturbed wound healing. [source] Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor treatment of human chronic ulcers promotes angiogenesis associated with de novo vascular endothelial growth factor transcription in the ulcer bedBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2006F. Cianfarani Summary Background, Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a cytokine with pleiotropic functions, has been successfully employed in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The biological effects underlying GM-CSF action in impaired wound healing have been only partly clarified. Objectives, To investigate the effects of GM-CSF treatment of chronic venous ulcers on lesion vascularization and on the local synthesis of the angiogenic factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placenta growth factor (PlGF). Methods, Patients with nonhealing venous leg ulcers were treated with intradermal injection of recombinant human GM-CSF, and biopsies were taken at the ulcer margin before and 5 days after administration. Wound vascularization was analysed by immunohistochemistry using antiplatelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1/CD31 and anti-,-smooth muscle actin antibodies. VEGF and PlGF transcription was assessed by in situ hybridization. To identify the cell populations transcribing VEGF within the ulcer bed, the VEGF hybridization signal was correlated with the immunostaining for different cell type markers on serial sections. Direct induction of VEGF transcription by GM-CSF was investigated in GM-CSF-treated cultured macrophages and keratinocytes. Results, Blood vessel density was significantly increased in the ulcer bed following GM-CSF treatment. VEGF transcripts were localized in keratinocytes at the ulcer margin both before and after GM-CSF treatment, whereas a VEGF hybridization signal was evident within the ulcer bed only following administration. PlGF mRNA was barely detectable in keratinocytes at the ulcer margin and was not visibly increased after treatment. Unlike VEGF, a specific PlGF hybridization signal could not be detected in cells within the ulcer following GM-CSF administration. Monocytes/macrophages were the main cell population transcribing VEGF after GM-CSF treatment. In vitro analysis demonstrated that VEGF transcription can be directly stimulated by GM-CSF in a differentiated monocytic cell line, but not in keratinocytes. Conclusions, Our data show that increased vascularization is associated with GM-CSF treatment of chronic venous ulcers and indicate that inflammatory cell-derived VEGF may act as an angiogenic mediator of the healing effect of GM-CSF in chronic ulcers. [source] Interleukin-8 production by polymorphonuclear leukocytes from patients with chronic infected leg ulcers treated with Lactobacillus plantarumCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 3 2010M. C. Peral Clin Microbiol Infect 2010; 16: 281,286 Abstract Bacterial infection impairs the healing process, promoting the chronicity of inflammation and wounds. Because antibiotics fail to eradicate bacteria, especially in biofilm form, new therapeutic modalities may be required. In the present study, the effectiveness of bacteriotherapy with Lactobacillus plantarum on infected chronic venous ulcers was investigated and its effects on interleukin (IL)-8 production by cells from the ulcer bed and neutrophils isolated from peripheral blood that were previously challenged in vitro with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and L. plantarum were studied. Topical application of L. plantarum culture to lesions (25,60 cm2) of 14 diabetic and 20 non-diabetic patients induced debridement, granulation tissue formation and total healing after 30 days in 43% diabetics and in 50% non-diabetics. No significant differences between the groups were observed. The cells from ulcer beds collected after treatment with L. plantarum for 10 days showed a decrease in the percentage of polymorphonuclear, apoptotic and necrotic cells and an enhancement of IL-8 production. IL-8 production by isolated neutrophils from these patients was compared with that in diabetics without ulcers, as well as normal subjects under basal conditions, and after infection of polymorphonuclear cells with P. aeruginosa preincubated either with or without L. plantarum. The basal values in diabetic and ulcer patients were higher than normal (p <0.001) and were increased by P. aeruginosa infection in normal, diabetics (p <0.001) and non-diabetics with ulcers (p <0.01). Preincubation with L. plantarum decreased IL-8 production in patients with ulcers non-diabetic and diabetic (p <0.001). Lactobacillus plantarum treatment reduced wound bacterial load, neutrophils, apoptotic and necrotic cells, modified IL-8 production and induced wound healing. [source] |