Impact of topical nifedipine on wound healing in animal model (pig)

Abstract

Background The human skin is an extremely sophisticated and evolved organ that covers the whole body. External agents or the patient’s own diseases can cause skin injuries that can challenge healthcare professionals and impose high social, economic and emotional costs. Objectives To evaluate the impact of topical nifedipine on skin wound healing, specifically on polymorphonuclear cells, vascular proliferation, and collagen. Methods We used three pigs, and created eight injuries in the dorsal region of each animal. We applied 1%, 10%, and 20% concentration nifedipine creams to four of the wounds in animals 1, 2, and 3 respectively and treated the other twelve wounds with saline solution 0.9% only. We analyzed the presence of polymorphonuclear cells, vascular proliferation, and collagen at six different times (days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28). Results The evaluation of polymorphonuclear levels showed mild cell activity at all times in the control group, while in the nifedipine groups, marked levels were more frequent at all times during the experiment. There was a 4.84-fold increase in the chance of marked vascular proliferation (p = 0.019) and, at the same time, a decrease in collagen formation (OR 0.02 / p = 0.005) in animal 3. Conclusions Topical NFD may have an impact on skin wound healing mechanisms. Our study showed that polymorphonuclear cells and vascular proliferation increased. We also demonstrated that collagen formation decreased. Therefore, topical NFD may have a positive impact on skin wound healing. Additional studies are needed to confirm our results.

Integrating large-scale meta-GWAS and PigGTEx resources to decipher the genetic basis of complex traits in pig

“…Genome editing also protect pigs from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and reduce economic losses 8 . On top of their great economic importance as a primary source of animal protein for humans 9 , pigs have been widely accepted as a model for studying human biology and diseases, including Alzheimer's disease 10 , cardiovascular disease 11 , wound healing 12,13 , human reproduction 14 , the human gastrointestinal tract 15 , dry eye 16 , and immunological studies [17][18][19] . Therefore, investigating the genetic and biological architecture of complex traits in pigs will not only benefit the pig breeding industry but also to human biomedical research.…”