Nao Nakajima: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Satoru Hashimoto: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Hiroki Sato: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Kazuya Takahashi: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Takuro Nagoya: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Kenya Kamimura: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Atsunori Tsuchiya: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Junji Yokoyama: Department of Endoscopy, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata, Japan.
Yuichi Sato: Department of Endoscopy, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata, Japan.
Hanako Wakatsuki: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Masayuki Miyata: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Yusuke Akashi: Department of Biomaterials, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ryusuke Tanaka: Department of Biomaterials, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Ken Matsuda: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Yasuhiko Tabata: Department of Biomaterials, Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Shuji Terai: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
INTRODUCTION: triamcinolone acetonide (TA), a steroid, is often used clinically to prevent dysfunctions associated with fibrosis. The objective of this study was to examine whether TA can be suspended in a gelatin sheet for tissue engineering using a mouseskin wound model. METHODS: TA was suspended in biodegradable gelatin and freeze-dried in a sheet form. The sheet was analyzed for homogeneity and controlled release of TA by high-performance liquid chromatography. We made two skin wounds on the dorsal side of mice. Gelatin sheets with TA (TA sheet) and without TA (control sheet) were attached to each skin wound. To determine the efficacy of the prepared TA sheet on the skin wounds, TA-sheet versus TA-injection experiments were conducted. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to assess the grade of epithelialization and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) immunohistochemical staining was conducted to evaluate myofibroblast infiltration. RESULTS: In the TA-release test , 7.7 ± 2.3% of TA was released from the sheet by 24 h. After replacing the initial phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with collagenase PBS, the amount of released TA increased over time. The wound area/original skin wound area after 15 days with the TA sheet was significantly larger than that with the control sheet (26.9 ± 5.5% vs 10.7 ± 2.6%, p = 0.023). The α-SMA positive area/whole area with the TA sheet was significantly lower than that with the control sheet (4.65 ± 0.66% vs 7.24 ± 0.7%, p = 0.023). Furthermore, the α-SMA positive area/whole area with the TA sheet was significantly lower than that with TA injection (5.32 ± 0.45% vs 7.93 ± 0.75%, p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: We developed a TA sheet and confirmed both the homogeneity of the suspended TA and controlled-release of the TA in the presence of collagenase . The TA sheet caused less myofibroblast infiltration into the tissue than the control sheet or TA injection did.
