ABSTRACT
Inflammatory mediators play an important role in the mediation of inflammation and trauma. There for they could be usefulfor the determination of vitality and wound age. In the present study, interleukin-6 [IL-6], fibronectin [Fn] and lipoxinA[4] [LXA[4]] were estimated in extracts of antemortem skin wounds in rats. Moreover, we extended our measurements to include the levels of these mediators in rat skin wounds in the early postmortem period aiming to test for their practical usefulness in the estimation of wound vitality and the duration after its infliction. Thirty two rats were divided into 4 groups of rats [8 animals in each group] and were assigned for collection of wound samples at the indicated time intervals. The wound samples were taken 30 mm [group I], 3 hours [group II], 6 hours [group III] and 24 [group IV] hours after infliction of the incised wounds. The specimens as control group were excised from uninjured rats [8 animals] in the same region as wounded groufrs. The rats in group IV were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and kept at room temperature to be used in assessment of postmortem changes on different parameters. Postmortem wound samples were then collected 24 hours after sacrifice of group IV rats and the postmortem control samples were taken from intact skin of the same rats. A special group of rats [n-8] was used to explore the influence of supravital injuries on mediator release from postmortem inflicted wounds. All wound and control specimens were homogenated and assayed for the level of IL. 6, Fn and LXA[4] using quantitative ELISA analysis. Analysis of the changes of the studied parameters in different times revealed that Fn is the first mediator to increase, in 30 mm, after wound infliction. In the following 3 and 6 hours after wounding both Fn and IL-6 were increased. At 24 hours of wounding LXA[4] increases to join Fn and IL-6, at that time Fn and IL-6 were still high. This pattern of increased level of the three mediators was maintained for at least 24 hours postmortem. We can conclude that the combined assay of IL-6, Fn and LXA[4] may be a useful tool in determination of the probable duration lapsed since antemortem wound inflection. Moreover, this pattern of time dependent increase of the three parameters may be also useful in age determination of multiple inflicted wounds at variable intervals in the same victim. We can also conclude that vital reactions are essential for release of the assayed parameters. This can be documented by the lack of significant increase of these parameters in postmortem-inflicted wounds