The effect of topical application of selenocystamine and substance P on the healing of full thickness punch wounds in the rat

Abstract

Wound healing is a complex, continuous process that is affected by numerous factors. Full thickness skin loss often caused by bums and other deep wounds heals by f broplasia and contraction. These kinds of wounds ciose slowly, and as such they are much more vulnerable to infection. Substance P (SP) is an eleven-residue peptide that belongs to the tachykinin family. SP can create many physiological effects. It has been shown to stimulate lymphocyte proliferation in both human and animal smdies and promotes the growth of fibroblasts and epithelial cells. This suggests that SP may function as a mediator of local inflammation and wound healing responses. Selenium is a nutritionally essential trace element that is toxic in excess amounts due to its free radical generating ability. It has also been reported that free radicals. when in low concentrations can stimulate the proliferation of various mammalian cells including human fibroblasts. It is logical to hypothesize that when in a very low concentration, selenium, could generate free radicals in the amounts that stimulate the proliferation of fibroblasts, and therefore enhance wound healing.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of topically applied selenocystamine and substance P on wound healing in punch wounds in a rat model.

The result show that the decrease in the wound area of the SP treated wound was significantly higher than that of the control. This suggests that topical application of SP can accelerate wound healing in an open wound model in which both nerv-es and tissues have been mechanically damaged. The resuits also show that the decrease in the wound area of the selenocystamine treated wounds were not significantly different from that of the control. This suggests that topical application of selenocystamine did not accelerate wound healing at the concentration used in this study.