Plasma treatment of sheep skin woods in veterinary medicine

The skin is the largest organ of mammals. The loss of skin integrity may induce important dysfunctions or even death. For superficial wounds, the endogenous healing mechanisms in combination with traditional wound care are sufficient to achieve functional repair. In contrast, in larger wounds, chronic wounds or deep ulcers it is difficult to obtain the restitutio ad integrum and fibrosis and/or scar tissue develops [1,2]. The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of conventional and innovative topic treatments on skin regeneration, induced experimentally in sheep. To achieve this goal different types of investigations (clinical, molecular, histological, immunohistochemical) were performed. Six skin lesions (4x4cm) were surgically created on the back of six healthy adult sheep; every single wound was destined, in a randomized way, to different conventional or innovative treatments, one of which was the use of a composite plasma source formed of 16 RF low-power sources working with helium as process gas [3]. The sixth wound was the placebo. Biopsies were collected with a surgical punch (0,6x0,6 cm) at time T0, T15 and T40 days. Lesions were clinically evaluated considering the presence and color of wound fluid, the state of hydration, the wound surface/surroundings and other parameters. Histological examinations considered crust formation, re-epithelization and epidermal thickness, dermis edema, extension of granulation tissue, acute and chronic inflammation. Immunohistochemistry for evaluation of inflammation, vascularization, and cell proliferation was performed using CD3, CD20, MHCII, von Willebrand factor and KI67 antibodies. Furthermore, Real time-PCR investigated transcripts of genes such as Vascular endothelial growth factors, Transforming growth factor beta 1, Vimentin, Collagen 1α1 and hair Keratin. Clinically, the lesions treated with plasma healed more rapidly with respect to the placebo. Reduced bacterial load and reduced macerations were observed in wounds treated with plasma compared with placebo. From the second week onwards all wounds did not show presence of fluid and exhibited a dry and clean secondary layer. However, the plasma treatment reached the optimal healing since the new tissue presented a mature organization and skin annexes, as confirmed by histological, immunohistochemical and molecular assays. To sum up, the plasma “innovative” therapy led to surprising results, in terms of quality and rapidity, regarding regeneration of mammalian skin.