LEVELS OF GROWTH FACTORS IN RATS WITH EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED PURULENT-NECROTIC WOUND UNDER LOCAL APPLICATION OF A PROTEOLYTIC ENZYME-BASED COMPOSITION
O.O. Savchuk1, N.S. Nikitina1, L.I. Stepanova2, K.V. Maievskyi1, N.G. Raksha1, T.I. Halenova1
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
- National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of
Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz71.06.050

Abstract
One of the major challenges in modern medicine is the effective
treatment of both infected and aseptic wounds. A promising
approach involves the use of enzymatic compositions based on
proteases, which are capable of selective wound debridement
and modulation of the regeneration process. Our study aimed
to investigate the dynamics of major growth factors, namely
platelet-derived growth factor A (PDGF-A), insulin-like
growth factor (IGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), epidermal
growth factor (EGF), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α),
transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), vascular endothelial
growth factor (VEGF), and nerve growth factor (NGF), in
blood serum and skin homogenates of rats with experimentally
induced purulent-necrotic wounds under conditions of local
application of an enzymatic composition. The experiment was
performed on 50 adult male outbred white rats, which were
evenly divided into two groups: control and experimental.
After the induction of a purulent-necrotic skin injury, animals
in the experimental group received local treatment with a
composition based on proteases isolated from the sea urchin
Sterechinus neumayeri and the starfish Odontaster validus,
whereas animals in the control group did not receive treatment.
Rats were euthanized on days 3, 6, 9, and 14, as well as at the
point of complete epithelialization (n = 5). In the serum of
control animals, a maximal increase in the levels of the investigated growth factors was observed as early as day 3, which
was likely the result of an excessive inflammatory response
and uncoordinated hypersecretion triggered by tissue injury. In
contrast, in the serum of experimental animals, elevations in
growth factor levels were detected not immediately, but during the phase of active proliferation (days 6-14), suggesting a
physiologically mediated activation of reparative processes. At
the same time, in skin homogenates, only a moderate increase
in the concentrations of growth factors was recorded compared
to controls, which may indicate a reduction of the local inflammatory burden and a more balanced regenerative response.
Thus, we propose that local application of a protease-based
composition derived from marine hydrobionts contributes to
the modulation of key growth factor levels, attenuates excessive local responses, and improves the quality of tissue repair.
Keywords:
purulent-necrotic wound; growth factors; enzyme therapy; proteolytic enzymes; marine hydrobionts; wound healing; experimental model.
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