Epidermal growth factor combined with degradable collagen membrance in prevention of tendon adhesion / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The problems such as fast drug degradation, great drug loss and poor barrier effect exist when using liquid molecular biomaterial as barriers in preventing tendon adhesion. Accordingly, it has aroused increasing attention to seek for membrane biomaterials as barriers. Simultaneously, it found that tendon cells would proliferate and differentiate under controls of multiple endogenous growth factors that promote tendon endogenous healing. However, it is poorly understood which the specificity factor for tendon healing is. OBJECTIVE: To study effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) combined with degradable collagen membrane on preventing tendon adhesion and improving tendon endogenous healing. METHODS: Thirty ten-month old leghorn cocks were randomly divided into 3 groups, with 10 animals in each group. The third toe of left foot of each animal was prepared for avulsion model, and sutured with improved Kessler method. The broken ends were encapsulated with EGF combined with degradable collagen membrane (combination group), degradable membrane alone (collagen membrane group) or without treatment (blank control group). Four weeks later, the specimens were evaluated by gross observation, biomechanical test, light microscope and electron microscope. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In the combination group, there were a large amount of type Ⅰ collagen inside the sutured tendon, they were closely and lined up in order. The amount of collagen-fibronectin was less and the adhesion obviously was less than the control group. The tendon cells were matured. The adhesion in the collagen membrane group was slightly, there were a large amount of type Ⅲ collagen inside the sutured tendon, which loosely but well organized. In the blank control group, type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen arranged crisscrossed, with heavy adhesion. The results suggest that EGF can promote tendon endogenous healing and degradable collagen membrane can prevent tendon exogenous healing, thus, prevent the formation of adhesion.