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The isolation of a fibroblast growth inhibitor associated with perigraft seroma
S S Ahn1, D E Williams, D A Thye
1Department of Surgery-Vascular Section, UCLA Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles 90024.
Purpose:
Perigraft seroma is a rare complication of reconstructive vascular surgery characterized by a clear, sterile fluid collection confined within a fibrous pseudomembrane around a prosthetic graft. The exact cause of this disease is unknown but involves failure of surrounding connective tissue to incorporate the graft. To understand why this occurs, we studied sera from patients with perigraft seroma for their effect on human fibroblasts. Sera from control subjects, patients with uninfected prosthetic grafts, and patients with prosthetic grafts were tested for comparison.
Methods:
Fibroblast growth was measured by radioactive thymidine uptake and hexosaminidase colorimetric cell proliferation assays. We fractionated sera with gel filtration columns and measured each fraction's effect on fibroblast growth.
Results:
Serum samples from patients with perigraft seroma inhibited fibroblast growth in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, a postseroma sample, normal human sera, and sera from patients with infected and uninfected grafts showed no significant fibroblast inhibition. An inhibitory factor with a molecular weight of 2000 d was isolated from serum of patients with perigraft seroma.
Conclusions:
Perigraft seroma is associated with a fibroblast inhibitor with a molecular weight of 2000 d. Further identification and characterization of this protein may lead to clinical applications in preventing and treating perigraft seroma.
Insights
Serum from patients with perigraft seroma inhibits fibroblast growth. A 2000-dalton factor in this serum may cause perigraft seroma, a complication of vascular surgery.
Area of Science:
- Vascular Surgery
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Perigraft seroma is a rare complication following reconstructive vascular surgery.
- It involves fluid collection around a prosthetic graft due to failed tissue incorporation.
- The underlying cause remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of patient sera on human fibroblast growth.
- To identify factors in sera from perigraft seroma patients that influence fibroblast behavior.
Main Methods:
- Fibroblast proliferation was assessed using radioactive thymidine uptake and cell proliferation assays.
- Serum fractionation was performed using gel filtration chromatography.
- The impact of different serum fractions on fibroblast growth was evaluated.
Main Results:
- Sera from perigraft seroma patients significantly inhibited fibroblast growth in a dose-dependent manner.
- Normal sera and sera from patients with other graft complications did not show this inhibitory effect.
- An inhibitory factor with a molecular weight of approximately 2000 daltons was isolated from the sera of perigraft seroma patients.
Conclusions:
- Perigraft seroma is linked to a specific fibroblast inhibitor present in patient sera.
- This inhibitor has a molecular weight of 2000 daltons.
- Further characterization of this factor could lead to new therapeutic strategies for perigraft seroma.