Fascial fibroblast kinetic activity is increased during abdominal wall repair compared to dermal fibroblasts

Abstract

Abdominal wall fascial wound healing failure is a common clinical problem for general surgeons, manifesting in early postoperative fascial dehiscence as well as delayed development of incisional hernias. We previously reported that abdominal wall fascial incisions normally recover breaking strength faster than simultaneous dermal incisions in a rodent model. The accelerated fascial repair was associated with greater fibroblast cellularity within fascial wounds and increased wound collagen deposition. The current study was designed to determine whether accelerated fascial healing is the result of increased fascial fibroblast kinetic activity as measured by a more efficient fibroblast phenotype for binding to and remodeling a collagen matrix. Using a new model of abdominal wall repair, fibroblast cell cultures were developed from uninjured and wounded fascia and compared to dermal fibroblasts in order to define the fibroproliferative kinetic properties of abdominal wall fibroblasts. Fascial wound fibroblasts produced a more efficient and greater overall collagen lattice compaction compared to dermal fibroblasts. Acute fascial wound fibroblasts also showed enhanced cell proliferation compared to dermal fibroblasts but no significant differences in collagen production when normalized to cell number. These results suggest that fascial fibroblasts express distinct acute repair phenotypes and therefore a specific mechanism for fascial repair following injury.

Impaired Laparotomy Wound Healing in Obese Rats

“…Normal fibroblast function is required for effective wound repair [33]. To determine whether fibroblast function is impaired in obese Zucker rats, the intrinsic kinetic activity of fibroblasts derived from the unwounded linea alba of SD and Zucker rats was measured by FPCL for binding to and remodeling a collagen matrix in vitro.…”

Connective tissue alteration in abdominal wall hernia

“…Fascial fibroblasts produce more collagen than dermal fibroblasts in acute wound healing after abdominal surgery 41,42 . Fibroblast synthetic activity can be studied by the incorporation of [ 14 C]proline 43,44 .…”

Animal model of chronic abdominal hernia in rabbit

“…A brief review of five years on electronic data base of biomedical literature (Medline and Pubmed) showed thirty seven reports with rats, nineteen with rabbits, five with pigs or mini pigs, three with guinea-pigs, three with dogs, two with mice and no one with sheep or goats. Except for reports of one research group 16,17,[20][21][22] in rats and another one in rabbits 18 , almost all studies on wound healing and scar formation, using or not the different types of mesh, are based on the promotion of an acute full-thickness abdominal wall defect that is immediately repaired by a mesh and/or a surgical technique.…”

“…Thus, in rats the defect might be only a middle line incision closed with absorbable suture 16,17,[20][21][22] or fullthickness defect range of one squared centimeter 7 up to resections of 1.5 x 2.5 cm 8,23 , 2x2 cm 24 or 2x3 cm 6,25 . In guinea pigs the size was reported as 3x1 cm 26 and in pigs as 10x10 cm 13 , 12x4 cm 12 or 5 cm of diameter 14 .…”