The early metabolism of noncollagenous glycoproteins during wound healing

Glycoprotein composition in cyclophosphamide-induced lung fibrosis

The present study investigated the glycosylation state of proteins in lung tissue of a cyclophosphamide-induced model of pulmonary fibrosis in rats. In fibrotic lung, the carbohydrate constituents (total hexose, fucose, sialic acid and hexosamine) of salt-soluble, collagenase, elastase and papain digested glycoproteins were significantly higher compared to normal lungs. Interestingly, fibrotic lung tissues had higher activities of mannosyl, glucosyl, galactosyl, sialyl and fucosyl transferases than normal lung tissues. Similarly, mannosyl, glucosyl, galactosyl, sialyl and fucosyl transferases were higher in serum from rats with fibrosis than in that from normals. These data indicate that glycoprotein metabolism is significantly altered from normal in animals with interstitial lung fibrosis.

Kinetic analysis of experimental post-operative peritoneal healing: the incorporation of proline and glucosamine by exudative and tissue repair cells

The purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the cellular composition of post-surgical peritoneal fluid and peritoneal tissue and determine the patterns of 14C-proline and 14C-glucosamine incorporation by the peritoneal exudative cells and peritoneal tissue repair cells (PEC and PTRC). One group of rabbits underwent resection (2.0 cm) and reanastomosis of their ileum, and another group underwent peritoneal wall abrasion. Postoperatively (1-28 days), the PEC and PTRC were collected and incubated for 5 days with 0.5 mu Ci 14C-glucosamine or 14C-proline, and the specific activity thereafter determined by beta counting. On the 1st postoperative day, the total cell number (TCN) has increased (7.7 x 10(7) cells/rabbit) to 770 per cent of the control values primarily as a result of the PMN influx (89.9 per cent). On day 3, the TCN was 6.1 x 10(7), 58.5 per cent of which comprised macrophages, which had become the principle cell type by day 5. The incorporation of proline and glucosamine into the PEC increased significantly peaking on day 7 then decreasing to the control value by day 21. Proline incorporation into the PTRC increased significantly, reaching a peak value on day 5, which decreased by day 10. Glucosamine incorporation reached a peak value on day 7 then decreased by day 10. In conclusion, the increase in glucosamine and proline incorporation into the PTRC parallels the increase in PEC, comprised principally of macrophages. These findings suggest that analysis of the metabolic activities in peritoneal activated macrophages may provide a useful tool to dissect the central mediation of postsurgical peritoneal re-epithelialization.

Modulation of proline and glucosamine incorporation into tissue repair cells by peritoneal macrophages

The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns of [14C]proline and [14C]glucosamine incorporation by tissue repair cells (TRC) as modulated by postsurgical macrophages. Rabbits underwent a midline laparotomy followed by resection (2.0 cm) and reanastomosis of their ileum. Another group of rabbits underwent peritoneal wall abrasion with sterile gauze until punctate bleeding developed. Postoperative (1-28 days) exudate cells (PEC) were recovered from the peritoneal cavity after reanastomosis, and (TRC) were obtained directly from the injured peritoneal surface after abrasion. Since the postsurgical exudate was composed mainly of macrophages, we examined the effect of postsurgical macrophage-spent media on the incorporation of [14C]proline, [14C]glucosamine, and [3H]thymidine by TRC. After 7 days of culture, Postsurgical Day 7 TRC were incubated with spent media from postsurgical PEC (greater than 90% macrophages). When TRC were cultured with macrophage-spent media, the number of TRC increased significantly compared to that of fresh medium-treated controls. The incorporation of [3H]thymidine by TRC was also enhanced by macrophage-spent media. The incorporation of [14C]proline and [14C]glucosamine by TRC was also enhanced when incubated with macrophage-spent medium. However, when data were expressed on a per cell basis, incorporation of [14C]proline and [14C]glucosamine by TRC cultured with macrophage-spent media was the same or less than that by cells incubated with fresh medium. These data suggest that the increase in incorporation of glucosamine and proline into connective tissue protein by postsurgical repair cells may be directly modulated by macrophages recruited in response to surgical injury and that this increase is due to the fibroproliferative effect of postsurgical macrophages.

The efficacy of subcutaneous goretex implants in monitoring wound healing response in experimental protein deficiency

This combined biochemical and histological study demonstrated that subcutaneously implanted Goretex tubing can be used to monitor and detect variations in wound healing potential in rats subjected to experimental hypoproteinaemic and normal refeeding conditions. Induced hypoproteinaemia was observed to be associated with a marked diminution in cellular infiltration, collagen synthesis and fibrous deposition within the implant. All these effects were completely reversed by subsequent refeeding of normal diet. Although regional variations in fibroblastic response attributable to biologic variability, were observed within individual control implants, or between paired controls, they were relatively minor as compared to the marked differences observed at the macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical level between implants removed from normally fed and protein deficient animals.

Components of increased labelling with putrescine and fucose during healing of skin wounds

To study the glycoproteins and transglutaminase substrates involved in healing, wounds were made in the skin of anesthetized rats with a biopsy punch. Explants made 1-5 days later were incubated with [3H]-labelled putrescine, fucose or proline. As compared with unwounded skin there was an increased incorporation of label which was greatest at 3 days. Incubation for various times suggests that the incorporation of fucose and proline is dependent on protein synthesis, whereas putrescine is incorporated into preformed proteins. Putrescine and fucose label polypeptides with an Mr of about 45,000 before and 14,000 after reduction. These correspond in size with the aminopropeptide of type III collagen. Other labelled material of higher molecular weight is partly degraded to similar polypeptides on collagenase digestion. Much of the [3H]putrescine in the polypeptides is in the form of gamma-glutamyl putrescine. It is hypothesized that isopeptide linkage of the aminopropeptide III occurs in wound healing.

Nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins and protease activities in granulation tissues in experimental diabetes

Serum proteins and hemoglobins show increased nonenzymatic glycosylation in diabetes mellitus. The measure of glycosylated proteins, particularly hemoglobin, is considered to be a preferred indicator in the control of diabetes. In a study of diabetes and inflammation, we assessed the extent of nonenzymatic glycosylation of proteins of granulation tissue from diabetic rats. Five, seven, and ten days after carrageenan injection, the granuloma proteins were extracted. Nonenzymatic glycosylation was measured in soluble and insoluble granuloma proteins by thiobarbituric acid assay. Protease activities and free amino groups were assayed in soluble extracts. Nonenzymatic glycosylation in soluble proteins of both groups reached a maximum on the seventh day. However, nonenzymatic glycosylation in soluble proteins of the diabetic granulomas was significantly greater than the controls on days five and seven. During the days after granuloma induction, nonenzymatic glycosylation in the insoluble granuloma tissue proteins gradually decreased without any significant differences between controls and diabetics. Significant decreases in the free amino groups in soluble proteins of the diabetic tissues were noted. Greater activities of cathepsins B and D were noted in diabetic tissues over controls. These observations suggest that, in addition to increased proteolysis, increased nonenzymatic glycosylation of tissue proteins could be associated with the impaired process of wound healing in diabetics.

Glycoprotein biosynthesis during inflammation in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Extracellular glycoproteins play an important role in wound healing; yet little is known about glycoprotein biosynthesis and its regulation by insulin in inflammation. Using [1-14C] fucose as a marker, glycoprotein biosynthesis was studied in carrageenan-induced granuloma from diabetic and control rats. Fucose incorporation into glycoproteins was followed for 24 h after an intraperitoneal injection of the label. Radioactivity in trichloroacetic acid precipitable serum glycoproteins and saline-soluble and insoluble glycoproteins was assessed in five-, seven-, and ten-day-old granuloma tissues. Fucose incorporation was higher in soluble glycoproteins (P less than 0.01) at all points in controls than in diabetic granulomas, and peak incorporation was reached in both groups on the seventh day. Incorporation of fucose into insoluble glycoproteins was higher in normals on the seventh day than in diabetics. Liver-, kidney-, and intestine-soluble glycoproteins showed a maximum incorporation on the seventh day, but no difference was noted between diabetic and normal rats. Incorporation of fucose in insoluble glycoproteins showed a gradual decline with the age of granuloma in all tissues from both groups, with the exception of the kidney. In the kidney, fucosylation of insoluble glycoproteins was decreased (P less than 0.01) in diabetics compared to controls. These results indicate an active phase of biosynthesis, with an increase in glycosylation during inflammation that is probably insulin dependent.

Collagen metabolism during the healing process of the cauterized rat cornea. An experimental study

Attempts were made (1) to develop an appropriate method for producing standardizable and reproducible experimental opacities of the cornea of rats and (2) to study quantitatively the course and intensity of the healing process of these corneal wounds. The right cornea of rats was cauterized by drops of 1.5 N HC1 over 30 s; the left one served as a control. The spontaneous course of wound healing, as well as the possible effect on this process of spray treatment with iodine brine or, for comparative purposes, with isotonic NaCl, was studied for 10 consecutive days by measuring the 24-h incorporation of 14C-labelled proline as a measure of de novo collagen synthesis. Spray treatment (1) abolishes the transient inhibition of proline incorporation observed in the unsprayed cornea on the first day after injury and (2) significantly advances the maximum collagen synthesis rate from day 3-4 to day 2 after the wound occurred. The position and magnitude of the 14C-proline incorporation peak are considered to be useful parameters for estimating corneal wound healing activity and its alteration by various agents. However, in this experimental design, it could not be proved that iodine has a specific effect.

Ibuprofen in the prevention of experimentally induced postoperative adhesions

Using a five-dose 70 mg/kg regimen, of ibuprofen significantly reduced both overall adhesion formation and the severity of adhesions when given to rabbits in the immediate postoperative period. This reduction was apparently time- and dose-related, as animals given smaller doses of ibuprofen at subsequent intervals had a tendency toward more adhesions and also more severe adhesions. A positive correlation was found between the severity of adhesions and the formation of new glycosaminoglycans and collagens.

Ibuprofen inhibition of postsurgical adhesion formation: a time and dose response biochemical evaluation in rabbits

Recently, a reduction in postoperative adhesion formation in rabbits which received high-dose ibuprofen (280 mg/kg/day) treatment in the perioperative interval was reported. Because these results could have resulted from a nonspecific effect of ibuprofen, the effects of ibuprofen on peritoneal injury in a time and dose response fashion was evaluated. Seventy rabbits were assigned to seven groups. All rabbits received a dose of ibuprofen 1 hr prior to surgery. The time of the second dose was either 8 or 12 hr after the surgical procedure; 8 hr for groups A, C, and E; 12 hr for groups B, D, and F (A, B: 70 mg/kg; C, D: 35 mg/kg; E, F: 17.5 mg/kg, respectively). Thereafter, rabbits received further dosing every 6 hr to complete a total 10-dose regimen. Group G served as a nontreatment control. Surgical injury was induced by either abrasion or ischemia of the right uterine horn. Immediately after closing the incision, 10 muCi of 14C-labeled glucosamine and 10 muCi of 14C-labeled proline were injected into each rabbit. All rabbits underwent a second laparotomy on the fifth postoperative day for evaluation of adhesion formation. Uterine tissue adjacent to the site of uterine healing was excised for determination of glycosaminoglycan and collagen concentration. In the nontreatment control group G, 5 of the 10 rabbits had severe grade 2 adhesions at the time of second laparotomy, 3 had grade 1 filmy adhesions, and 2 had no adhesions. This is in marked contrast (P less than 0.025) to the group that received ibuprofen at 70 mg/kg/day with the first postoperative dose 8 hr after surgery (group A). In this group, no rabbits had severe grade 2 adhesions, 3 rabbits had filmy grade 1 adhesions, and 7 rabbits were free of pelvic adhesions. A gradual tendency towards more adhesions and more severe adhesions was apparent in groups B-F as the dose of ibuprofen was decreased and the time of first postoperative injection was prolonged. The recovery of 14C-labeled glucosamine from the glycosaminoglycan extraction demonstrated a positive correlation between the cpm recovered and the severity of adhesions formed. Groups A and B had, overall, the lowest ratios of glucosamine (1.47 +/- 0.08 and 1.56 +/- 0.09, respectively) which were statistically different from the nontreatment control group G (1.76 +/- 0.11, P less than 0.05). There was also a positive correlation between the formation of severe adhesions and the ratio of 14C-labeled proline recovered by collagen extraction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Biochemical evaluation of postsurgical wound repair: prevention of intraperitoneal adhesion formation with ibuprofen

Proteins central to normal wound repair, including collagen and proteoglycans, were extracted during postoperative mesothelial regeneration, then the quantitation was correlated to macroscopic observations of normal peritoneal reepithelialization and/or postoperative adhesion formation. Sixty-three New Zealand white female rabbits of reproductive age were prospectively assigned to either Group A, untreated control; Group B, which received intramuscular injections of ibuprofen, 70 mg/kg per injection (immediately and 6 hr after surgery); or Group C, which received 5 intramuscular injections of ibuprofen (4 hr before surgery, and immediately, 6, 12, and 18 hr after surgery). The right uterine horn underwent one of three standardized surgical traumas: (1) abrasion of the peritoneal surface with a scalpel until punctate bleeding developed, (2) ischemia of the uterine horn by removal of the collateral blood supply (devascularization), (3) crushing of the uterine horn by cross clamping for 3 min with a Kelley hemostat. Thereafter, 10 microCi of C-14-labeled glucosamine and 10 microCi of C-14-labeled proline were injected into the marginal ear vein of each rabbit. All rabbits underwent a laparotomy on the fifth postoperative day for evaluation of adhesion formation and tissue biopsy for protein extraction. No reduction in adhesion formation was found using a 2-dose postoperative treatment regimen. However, using a 70 mg/kg X 5-doses regimen in the immediate perioperative interval, a significant reduction in both adhesion formation and severe adhesion formation (both P less than 0.025) were found following standardized surgical injury. The extent of adhesion formation was correlated with the extractable glycosaminoglycan and collagen concentrations. As determined by recovered glucosamine and proline, a positive correlation was apparent between the severity of adhesion grade and formation of new glycosaminoglycans or collagens. Thus, ibuprofen appears to inhibit adhesion formation through suppression of fibroproliferative inflammation.