Strategies to Employ Androstenediol to Reverse Steroid Inhibited Healing in a Rat Model of Trauma

Much of our current understanding regarding trauma, mechanisms of healing, and treatment strategies have evolved as a result of injuries suffered during armed conflict. While our understanding of these processes has advanced during and since these conflicts, treatment methods of traumatic wound healing have failed to progress significantly in the last forty years. The overall objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that the immune regulating hormone Androstenediol (AED) modulates the host’s immune system to promote wound healing under conditions where it has been inhibited by stress and infection. In an effort to characterize the effects of Androstenediol on healing following trauma, this research focused on strategies to evaluate which levels of trauma, immunosuppressive agents, and Androstenediol are required to reverse inhibition of healing. Sprague-Dawley rats were assessed for their response to trauma and intervention through assessment of white blood cell levels, cytokine and chemokine expression, and quantification of wound closure. While these studies did provide some trends reflecting modulation of cell counts and protein expression following AED treatment in immune-suppressed animals, measurement of wound closure failed to reveal a significant response