Steele Sydney R, Ratuski Anna S, Hui Emily I, Mahoney Brigette S, Geronimo Jerome T, Huss Monika K, Parker Karen J, Garner Joseph P
Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, California, USA.
Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, California, USA.
Horm Behav. 2025 May;171:105741. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105741. Epub 2025 Apr 15.
In humans and animals, social isolation leads to worsened health outcomes in many disease areas, including wound healing. Oxytocin, a prosocial hormone with anti-inflammatory properties, has been strongly implicated in the salutary benefits of social relationships. Oxytocin administration can mitigate the negative effects of social isolation on health outcomes, as demonstrated in rat and hamster wound healing models. However, little research has been conducted with mice, which are more common laboratory animal models, and which have markedly different social structures from these other rodent species. Moreover, the effects of social isolation and oxytocin administration on wound healing have not been investigated in mice within the same experiment, nor have they been compared between males and females. Here, we housed male and female C57BL/6 mice (n = 40) in social isolation or same-sex pairs. Mice received a subcutaneous biopsy punch wound and were subsequently administered IP oxytocin or placebo daily for 14 days. Socially isolated mice administered oxytocin, and pair-housed mice administered either oxytocin or placebo, showed a significantly faster decrease in wound area and more collagen fiber variance (i.e., less scar tissue) compared to socially isolated mice administered placebo. No sex differences were observed in any outcome measure. Thus, social housing and oxytocin administration each non-additively reduce the negative effects of social isolation on wound healing in mice. Oxytocin administration may be a promising pharmacological strategy by which to improve post-surgical healing in animals and humans, especially in those where limited social contact is necessary or in those with sparse social networks.
在人类和动物中，社会隔离会导致包括伤口愈合在内的许多疾病领域的健康状况恶化。催产素是一种具有抗炎特性的亲社会激素，与社会关系的有益影响密切相关。在大鼠和仓鼠伤口愈合模型中已证明，给予催产素可减轻社会隔离对健康结果的负面影响。然而，对于更常见的实验动物模型小鼠，相关研究较少，而且小鼠的社会结构与其他啮齿类动物明显不同。此外，在同一实验中尚未研究社会隔离和给予催产素对小鼠伤口愈合的影响，也未在雄性和雌性小鼠之间进行比较。在此，我们将雄性和雌性C57BL/6小鼠（n = 40）单独饲养或成对饲养。小鼠接受皮下活检穿刺伤口，随后每天腹腔注射催产素或安慰剂，持续14天。与给予安慰剂的单独饲养小鼠相比，给予催产素的单独饲养小鼠以及给予催产素或安慰剂的成对饲养小鼠，伤口面积的减小明显更快，胶原纤维变化更大（即疤痕组织更少）。在任何结果指标中均未观察到性别差异。因此，群居饲养和给予催产素均可非累加性地减轻社会隔离对小鼠伤口愈合的负面影响。给予催产素可能是一种有前景的药理学策略，可用于改善动物和人类的术后愈合，特别是对于那些需要有限社会接触或社交网络稀疏的个体。
