Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
J Surg Res. 2020 Sep;253:238-244. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2020.03.005. Epub 2020 May 5.
Despite its increasing use, not much is known about tissue expansion, and its complication rates are significantly high. Thus, there is an urgent need to establish a stable animal model to overcome the limitations and complications of tissue expansion. Although the mouse model has shown several advantages in the in-depth studies, an appropriate mouse expansion model has rarely been reported, likely because of its loose skin.
A micro expander was designed and implanted under the scalp of a mouse (expanded group); sterilized saline was regularly injected into the expander. In sham-operated mice (control group), a silicone sheet was implanted under the scalp. Skin samples were collected 5 wk after surgery. Histologic changes including epidermal and dermal thickness and collagen fiber arrangement were analyzed. In addition, vascular density and cell proliferation ratio were determined. An ultrastructural analysis was also performed.
With the application of the expansion device, the skin became tight and showed area enlargement. The epidermal thickness of the expanded skin increased significantly (P < 0.01), whereas the thickness of the dermis decreased significantly (P < 0.05) as compared with the control skin. Masson staining demonstrated that collagen bundles were arranged more compactly in the expanded skin (P < 0.05) than in the controls. Furthermore, more proliferating cells (P < 0.05) and blood vessels (P < 0.01) were observed. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the fibers of expanded skin were stretched and broken into bundles of various diameters, with abundant active fibroblasts.
A reliable mouse model of scalp skin expansion was successfully established, which may be a promising tool for in-depth studies on skin soft tissue expansion.
尽管组织扩张的应用越来越广泛，但人们对其知之甚少，其并发症发生率也很高。因此，迫切需要建立一种稳定的动物模型来克服组织扩张的局限性和并发症。尽管小鼠模型在深入研究中显示出了一些优势，但很少有合适的小鼠扩张模型被报道，这可能是因为其皮肤较松弛。
设计并将微扩张器植入小鼠头皮下（扩张组）；定期向扩张器中注入无菌生理盐水。在假手术小鼠（对照组）中，在头皮下植入硅胶片。术后 5 周收集皮肤样本。分析组织学变化，包括表皮和真皮厚度以及胶原纤维排列。此外，还测定了血管密度和细胞增殖率。还进行了超微结构分析。
应用扩张装置后，皮肤变得紧绷并出现面积增大。扩张皮肤的表皮厚度显著增加（P<0.01），而真皮厚度显著减少（P<0.05）与对照皮肤相比。Masson 染色显示，扩张皮肤的胶原束排列更加紧密（P<0.05）与对照组相比。此外，观察到更多的增殖细胞（P<0.05）和血管（P<0.01）。透射电子显微镜显示，扩张皮肤的纤维被拉伸并断裂成各种直径的束，其中含有丰富的活跃成纤维细胞。
成功建立了一种可靠的小鼠头皮皮肤扩张模型，这可能是皮肤软组织扩张深入研究的有前途的工具。
