Is estrogen effective for full-thickness cutaneous wound healing in young male mice?

The aim of this study is to show the effects of estrogen upon its topical application on the wound healing process in young male mice. Fifty-six male mice aged 7 weeks old were divided into 4 groups: sham operation, castration, estrogen treatment after sham operation, and estrogen treatment after castration. Wound healing was observed daily until day 14 after wounding. Specimens were harvested on days 3, 7, 10, and 14, and stained to evaluate reepithelialization, inflammation, contraction, and collagenaccumulation. Wound healing periods of all groups were almost the same, although the concentration of serum estrogen in the estrogen-applied mice was very high, and that in the nonapplied groups was low. The numbers of macrophages in the castrated, estrogen-treated after sham operation, and estrogen-treated after castration groups were significantly decreased compared with that in the sham group in the inflammatory phase; however, the ratio of wound area in these groups did not decrease, and other histological data did not reveal any effects of estrogen. These results indicate that estrogen may show limited effectiveness for full-thickness cutaneous wound healing in young male mice, and decreased inflammation may not always be associated with decreased wound area. .