Volume 133, Number 3 (Supplement) • PSRC Abstract Supplement
143 Morphologic and Histological Comparison of Hypertrophic Scar in Nude and Knockout Mice Deficient in T, B and Natural Killer Cells Moein Momtazi, BSc, MSc, MD University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada Purpose: Xenotransplantation of human skin onto nude mice results in proliferative scars with morphologic and histological similarities to human hypertrophic scar (HSc). These observations prompted us to consider strains of knockout mice to investigate the effects of deleting subsets of immune cells on proliferative scar formation.
Methods: Nude, TCRαβ-/-γδ-/-, RAG-1-/- and RAG-2-/γc-/- mice (n=20 per strain) were xenografted with split thickness human skin and euthanized at 30, 60, 120 and 180 days postoperatively. Control animals (n=5 per strain) were autografted with full thickness mouse skin. Scar biopsies and normal skin were harvested at each time point. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson’s trichrome and toluidine blue. Immunohistochemistry included anti-human HLA-ABC, α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), decorin and biglycan staining. Results: At 30 days post-operatively, xenografted nude, TCRαβ-/-γδ-/-, RAG-1-/- and RAG-2-/-γc-/- mice developed shiny, firm, elevated scars consistent with human. This scar morphology is in contrast to the flat, supple, inconspicuous scars observed in autografted controls. In nude mice, the average percent increase in scar thickness compared to the original skin graft was 254.0 ±7.4% (p
143 Morphologic and Histological Comparison of Hypertrophic Scar in Nude and Knockout Mice Deficient in T, B and Natural Killer Cells Moein Momtazi, BSc, MSc, MD University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada Purpose: Xenotransplantation of human skin onto nude mice results in proliferative scars with morphologic and histological similarities to human hypertrophic scar (HSc). These observations prompted us to consider strains of knockout mice to investigate the effects of deleting subsets of immune cells on proliferative scar formation.
Methods: Nude, TCRαβ-/-γδ-/-, RAG-1-/- and RAG-2-/γc-/- mice (n=20 per strain) were xenografted with split thickness human skin and euthanized at 30, 60, 120 and 180 days postoperatively. Control animals (n=5 per strain) were autografted with full thickness mouse skin. Scar biopsies and normal skin were harvested at each time point. Sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson’s trichrome and toluidine blue. Immunohistochemistry included anti-human HLA-ABC, α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), decorin and biglycan staining. Results: At 30 days post-operatively, xenografted nude, TCRαβ-/-γδ-/-, RAG-1-/- and RAG-2-/-γc-/- mice developed shiny, firm, elevated scars consistent with human. This scar morphology is in contrast to the flat, supple, inconspicuous scars observed in autografted controls. In nude mice, the average percent increase in scar thickness compared to the original skin graft was 254.0 ±7.4% (p
