Inhibitory effects of basic fibroblast growth factor on fibrosis of strain injured skeletal muscles in rats / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of exogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the healing of strain injured skeletal muscles in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighteen male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups no strain control group (C(on)), muscle strained and bFGF treated group (S(b)), or normal saline treated group (S(0)). The gastrocnemius of rats in the S(b) and S(0) groups was strained and the animals were treated with bFGF (200 AU/d) or normal saline for six days. Vimentin expression, an indicator of muscle fibrosis in injured muscles (expressed as integral optical density, IOD), was measured by immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The IOD of vimentin in the S(0) group [(24.29 +/- 7.91) x 10(3)] was higher than that in the C(on) group [(5.75 +/- 3.87) x 10(3)] (P < 0.01). The IOD of vimentin in bFGF treated group [(15.78 +/- 7.72) x 10(3)] was lower than that in the normal saline treated group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The exogenous bFGF may facilitate the repair of muscle structure and function by reducing vimentin expression and fibrosis in strain injured muscles.</p>