Collagen-based sponge hastens wound healing via decrease of inflammatory cytokines

The objective of this study was to compare and evaluate the efficacy of collagen-based sponge compared to commercial collagen sponge as a potent open wound-dressing material. In this study, 10mm diameter skin incision was made on lateral side of rats. The wound was monitored regularly until day 12. Histopathology results revealed the faster re-epithelialization and lesser inflammatory cells, and also masson's trichrome staining showed that collagen fibrils were horizontal and interwoven in collagen-based sponge group. The expression of growth factors such as VEGF and TGF-1 was found to be upregulated in transcriptional and translational levels, suggesting the importance of collagen-based sponge as a potent wound-healing material. Furthermore, IL-6 and TNF- in the wound tissue were significantly down-regulated in 2 and 6 days in collagen-based sponge group and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 level was found to be upregulated throughout 12days. These results cumulatively revealed that collagen-based sponge may serve as novel material for wound healing in the animal model.