Effect of Thymosin β4 on Deep Second-Degree Scald Wound Healing in Rats via Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

Objective: The purpose of this research is to explore the influences of thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4) in deep second-degree scald wound healing of rat skin and its relationship with Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Methods: Deep second-degree scalded model rats were prepared and divided into normal saline (NS) treatment group, T beta 4 treatment group and FH535 inhibitor group. Then, the concentrations of inflammatory factors in the rats were monitored via adopting the correlated TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta ELISA kits. In the meantime, the wound healing rate was analyzed via photography. Subsequently, the qRT-PCR procedure was wielded to determine Wnt1 and beta-catenin expression in wound tissues, and the degree of wound tissue injury was examined via hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Finally, Western blotting (WB) was adopted to assess Wnt/beta-catenin pathway-associated protein levels. Results: Releasing amount of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta were conspicuously up-regulated after scalding (p < 0.01), and Wnt1 and beta -catenin expression at molecular transcription level was also significantly raised (p < 0.01). Besides, treatment with 18 mu g of T beta 4 significantly increased the wound healing rate of scalded rats (p < 0.01). In addition, T beta 4 treatment significantly promoted wound healing (p < 0.01) and increased the Wnt1 and beta-catenin expression levels (p < 0.01). Moreover, FH535 significantly restrained the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway-correlated protein levels (p < 0.01) and wound healing. Conclusion: T beta 4 can promote scald wound healing in rats and may play a role via evoking Wn/beta-catenin pathway activation.