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Time and dose effects of mitomycin C on extracellular matrix fibroblasts and proteins
Bryce Ferguson1, Steven D Gray, Susan Thibeault
1Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
Objectives/Hypothesis:
The objective was to determine treatment dose and time-dependent effects of injected mitomycin C on extracellular matrix fibroblasts, collagen, and fibronectin, important mediators in the wound healing response, in a rat cutaneous wound model.
Study Design:
A prospective, controlled animal study.
Methods:
Forty rats were injected with three different doses (0.4, 2.3, and 5.0 mg/mL) of mitomycin C at three different wound sites with a fourth wound site receiving saline as a control. The rats were grouped to have their tissue harvested at five different dates ranging from 1 week to 8 weeks. After death, samples from the wound site underwent Western blot analysis for collagen and fibronectin and histological analysis measuring fibroblast apoptosis.
Results:
Over an 8-week period, collagen and fibronectin significantly decreased and fibroblast apoptosis significantly increased. No correlation was found between the injected dose of mitomycin C and either the extracellular matrix protein concentration or the rate of fibroblast apoptosis.
Conclusion:
Mitomycin C demonstrated a long-term effect in a wound, inhibiting collagen and fibronectin production and inducing apoptosis. Use of mitomycin C in excess of 0.4 mg/mL did not alter protein concentrations or rate of apoptosis.
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