Simultaneous detection of eight cytokines in human dermal wounds with a multiplex bead-based immunoassay for wound

Masataka Takamiya1, Sachiko Fujita, Kiyoshi Saigusa

  • 1Department of Legal Medicine, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka, Iwate 020-8505, Japan. mtakamiy@iwate-med.ac.jp

Insights

Multiplex cytokine analysis in human dermal wounds aids in estimating wound age. Specific cytokines like IL-6, IL-8, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha show strong expression patterns correlating with healing phases.

Area of Science:

  • Forensic pathology
  • Dermal wound healing
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Accurate wound age estimation is crucial in forensic pathology.
  • Understanding the dynamic changes in cytokines and cellular infiltration during wound healing is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify specific cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, GM-CSF, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha) in human dermal wounds.
  • To analyze dermal cell proliferation and inflammatory cell infiltration for wound age estimation.
  • To investigate the correlation between cytokine expression profiles and wound age.

Main Methods:

  • Multiplex cytokine analysis of human dermal wound samples.
  • Histological analysis of dermal cell proliferation and inflammatory cell infiltration (neutrophils, macrophages, T and B lymphocytes).
  • Correlation analysis between cytokine levels, cellular changes, and time post-injury.

Main Results:

  • Neutrophils and macrophages infiltrated within 2 hours, peaking at 33-49 hours; T and B lymphocytes infiltrated from 71 hours.
  • Fibroblast proliferation and epidermal thickening were observed from 246 hours and 71 hours, respectively.
  • Distinct patterns of cytokine expression were noted: IL-10, GM-CSF, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha increased early; IL-6 in the middle phase; IL-2, IL-4, and IL-8 from middle to late phases. IL-6, IL-8, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha showed strong expression.

Conclusions:

  • Multiplex cytokine analysis of wound sites is a viable method for estimating wound age.
  • Cytokine profiles provide valuable insights into the temporal dynamics of dermal wound healing.
  • The findings are applicable to forensic pathology and other medical fields requiring wound age assessment.

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