Reoxygenation Modulates the Adverse Effects of Hypoxia on Wound Repair.

Abstract

Hypoxia is a major stressor and a prominent feature of pathological conditions, such as bacterial infections, inflammation, wounds, and cardiovascular defects. In this study, we investigated whether reoxygenation has a protective effect against hypoxia-induced acute injury and burn using the C57BL/6 mouse model. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to hypoxia and treated with both acute and burn injuries and were in hypoxia until wound healing. Next, C57BL/6 mice were exposed to hypoxia for three days and then transferred to normoxic conditions for reoxygenation until wound healing. Finally, skin wound tissue was collected to analyze healing-related markers, such as inflammation, vascularization, and collagen. Hypoxia significantly increased inflammatory cell infiltration and decreased vascular and collagen production, and reoxygenation notably attenuated hypoxia-induced infiltration of inflammatory cells, upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (IL-6 and TNF-α) in the wound, and remission of inflammation in the wound. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that reoxygenation increased the expression of the angiogenic factor α-SMA and decreased ROS expression in burn tissues compared to hypoxia-treated animals. Moreover, further analysis by qPCR showed that reoxygenation could alleviate the expression of hypoxic-induced inflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF), increase angiogenesis (SMA) and collagen synthesis (Col I), and thus promote wound healing. It is suggested that oxygen can be further evaluated in combination with oxygen-releasing materials as a supplementary therapy for patients with chronic hypoxic wounds.

• Authors: Que Bai, Qian Gao, Fangfang Hu, Caiyun Zheng, Na Sun, Wenting Chen, Jinxi Liu, Yanni Zhang, Xianglong Wu, Tingli Lu
• Journal: International journal of molecular sciences (Int J Mol Sci) Vol. 23 Issue 24 (Dec 13 2022) ISSN: 1422-0067 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 36555485 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Interleukin-6
• Collagen
• Oxygen

Topics

• Mice
• Animals
• Interleukin-6
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Wound Healing
• Hypoxia (complications)
• Collagen
• Oxygen (pharmacology)
• Burns (pathology)
• Inflammation (metabolism)