Influence of bleomycin on the crosslinking of dermal collagen in rat.

The effect of bleomycin on dermal collagen crosslinking was studied in male albino rats. The skin samples were taken on the 28th day in both groups. Results showed that the percent reversibilities of neutral salt soluble collagen gels and the solubility of insoluble collagen in KCNS, urea or pronase were decreased in bleomycin treated animals whereas the aldehyde content was significantly increased in bleomycin treated animals compared to controls. The electrophoretic pattern of neutral salt soluble collagen on SDS-polyacrylamide gels revealed a marked decrease of alpha/beta ratio in bleomycin treated group. These results indicated that both the intra and inter molecular crosslinks of collagen were increased in the bleomycin treated group.