[Evaluation of immunosuppressive properties of fluid from healing wounds and influence of prostaglandins].

In this experiment, wound fluid (WF) was obtained by subcutaneous implantation of a stainless steel mesh cylinder through a 7 cm incision in the dorsal skin of Lewis male rats. On the tenth day after implantation, the fluid in the cylinder was aspirated. The rats in the three groups were studied after receiving dermal allografts from ACI rats. The group which received daily intraperitoneal injections of WF was found to have a graft survival time twice as long as the control groups. Two other groups were studied after receiving dermal xenografts of lyophilized porcine dermis. Until the seventh day the grafts remained elastic but then began to show signs of rejection. There was no difference in graft survival time between the group receiving WF injections and the control group. Although burn wound fluid was found to have a level of PGE 139 times normal, fluid obtained from a 7 cm skin incision on the tenth post-wounding day did not have a dramatic increase in PGE. WF appears to prolong survival of allografts but not xenografts; It is possible that PGE does not play a significant role in immunosuppressive properties of WF.