Table 1.
Area expansion ratios in the different groups in Experiment A and Experiment B.
Figure 1.
Schematic diagram of mixed microskin transplantation.
The diagram shows the procedure of transplantation of mixed autologous and allogeneic microskin particles at identical area expansion ratios of 10∶1. The insert shows the even distribution of the mixed microskin particles on the paraffin gauze.
Figure 2.
Schematic diagram of measurement of the epidermal thickness and the gross appearance during wound healing.
In Figure 2A, L, A, and H represented the length, area, and average thickness, respectively, of the selected epidermal region. H was calculated according to the first mean value theorem for integration: H = A÷L. Figure 2B shows the gross appearance of wound healing in group III in Experiment A at 3 post-graft weeks (PGWs). The red arrows indicate desquamation. Figure 2C shows the gross appearance of wound healing in group I in Experiment A at 2 PGWs. The blue arrows show fresh granulation tissue revealed by the shedding of the allogeneic microskin, the black arrows show the remaining microskin, and the yellow arrows show the de novo epithelium at the wound edge.
Figure 3.
Wound healing at 2, 3, and 4 weeks after mixed microskin transplantation in Experiment A.
A shows the gross appearance of the wounds; B, C, and D represent the wound healing rates at 2, 3, and 4 post-graft weeks (PGWs), respectively (* p<0.05, ** p<0.01, # p<0.05, ## p<0.01).
Figure 4.
Wound healing at 3 and 4 weeks after mixed microskin transplantation in Experiment B.
A shows the gross appearance of the wounds; B and C show the wound healing rates at 3 and 4 post-graft weeks (PGWs), respectively (* p<0.01, # p<0.05).
Figure 5.
Wound contraction rates after mixed microskin transplantation in Experiments A and B.
A, B, and C show the wound contraction rates at 2, 3, and 4 post-graft weeks (PGWs), respectively, in Experiment A (* p<0.05).
Figure 6.
Changes in the histological appearance and epidermal thickness of the healed wounds.
Aa shows the normal skin in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats; Ab, Ac, and Ad show the histological appearance of the healed wounds at 2 post-graft weeks (PGWs) in groups II,III, and IV, respectively, in Experiment A (hematoxylin and eosin; scale bar, 50 µm). B, C, and D show the changes from 2 to 4 PGWs in the epidermal thickness of the healed wounds in 3 groups in Experiment A. E and F show the changes from 3 to 4 PGWs in the epidermal thickness of the healed wounds in 2 groups from Experiment B (µm, ± s), * p<0.05.
Figure 7.
Immunohistochemical detection and quantification of integrin β1 expression in the healed wounds in Experiments A and B.
Aa, Ab, and Ac show integrin β1 expression at 2 post-graft weeks (PGWs) in groups II,III, and IV, respectively, in Experiment A. Ad shows integrin β1 expression in the hair follicle in group IV in Experiment A. Ae and Af show integrin β1 expression at 2 PGWs in groups II and III, respectively, in Experiment B. Ag and Ah show expression of integrin β1 in the hair follicle and no expression of integrin β1 in the epidermis, respectively, of normal Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat skin. Ai, Aj, and Ak show negative control staining of 2 PGW sections from groups II, III, and IV, respectively, in Experiment A. Scale bar, 50 µm in Aa–Ah and 100 µm in Ai–Ak. In Experiment A, the mean integrated optical density (IOD) of integrin β1 expression at 2 PGWs was higher in groups III and IV than in group II (* p<0.05), and, more interestingly, was highest in group III among these 3 groups (* p<0.05, # p<0.05). At 3 and 4 PGWs, the integrin β1 expression remained higher in group III than in groups II and IV (* p<0.05, # p<0.05). In Experiment B, the integrin β1 expression at 2 PGWs was stronger in group III than in group I (* p<0.05), and no intergroup difference was found at 4 PGWs.