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BLOCKADE OF β 1 ‐ AND β 2 ‐ADRENOCEPTORS DELAYS WOUND CONTRACTION AND RE‐EPITHELIALIZATION IN RATS
Author(s) -
Souza Bruna R,
Santos Jeanine S,
Costa Andréa MA
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1440-1681
pISSN - 0305-1870
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1681.2006.04383.x
Subject(s) - propranolol , wound healing , lesion , medicine , myofibroblast , connective tissue , hydroxyproline , blockade , contraction (grammar) , sirius red , pathology , endocrinology , fibrosis , surgery , receptor
SUMMARY1 The participation of sympathetic efferent fibres in wound healing is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of b 1 ‐ and b 2 ‐adrenoceptor blockade on rat excisional cutaneous wound healing. 2 Male rats were treated orally with propranolol dissolved in drinking water (50 mg/kg per day), whereas the control group received drinking water without propranolol. Propranolol was administered daily until rats were killed. A full‐thickness excisional lesion was performed. The lesion area was measured to evaluate wound contraction. After rats had been killed, lesion and adjacent normal skin were formol fixed and paraffin embedded. Sections were stained with haematoxylin–eosin, Sirius red or Toluidine blue and immunostained for a‐smooth muscle actin or proliferating cell nuclear antigen. 3 Propranolol‐treated rats presented delayed wound contraction and epidermal healing and decreased hydroxyproline levels, collagen density and neo‐epidermis thickness. Blockade of b 1 ‐ and b 2 ‐adrenoceptors increased epidermal and connective tissue cell proliferation, polymorphonuclear leucocyte migration, myofibroblast density and mast cell migration. The volume density of blood vessels was increased and vessels were more dilated in propranolol‐treated animals. 4 Thus, we conclude that b 1 ‐ and b 2 ‐adrenoceptor blockade impairs cutaneous wound healing. This information should be considered by physicians during the treatment of patients who present with hypertension and problems in the healing process (such as venous ulcers).