ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of tetrandrine on activity of collagenase derived from human hypertrophic scar for the sake of clarifying the mechanism as tetrandrine acting on scar.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The experimental concentration was controlled below that of cell proliferation inhibited, SDS-PAGE electrophoresis was adopted to separate collagenase from extracellular matrix, and then activated by trypsin analyzed the activity of collagenase with density scanning apparatus. At the same time quantity of extracellular collagen was measured using improved chloraseptine T oxidizing assay, moreover analyzed correlation between activity of collagenase and quantity of extracellular collagen.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the concentration below the lever of inhibiting fibroblast proliferation, the total activity of collagenase could be significantly increased by tetrandrine with dosage-dependence associated with quantity of extracellular collagen reduced, which was much greater than that of triamcinolone.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Increasing activity of collagenase on degradation of collagen even in a lower concentration was one of the mechanisms of tetrandrine treating hypertrophic scar.</p>