Effect of topical application of fibronectin in duodenal wound healing in rats

Fibronectin (FN), a large family of plasma and extracellular matrix glycoproteins, plays an important role in wound healing. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of fibronectin on the healing of sutured duodenal wounds, correlating with the serum and tissue level of the substance. METHODS: An experimental study was done in 30 adult Wistar rats divided into two group. In the control group (n=15) a duodenal suture was treated with saline solution 0,9% and in the test group the duodenal wounds were treated with 1% FN. The duodenal wound healing process was studied in the 5th, 7tn and 10th postoperative days, by histological sections stained by hematoxylin-eosin, Masson trichromic and immunohistochemical reaction for FN. A digital histological grading system was used to obtain a score for each group and to observe the healing process. RESULTS: the FN was present in the several layers of the duodenum and the cellular and plasmatic FN increased with the evolution of healing. In the test group the FN enhanced the wound healing within 5, 7 and 10 days after injury, when compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The topical use of FN in duodenal sutured wounds in rats enhances healing by stimulating the appearence of fibroblasts into the wound site and development of granulation tissue. This acceleration of the repair process may have an important application in the healing of duodenal wounds