ImmunohistologicalDetection of Fibronectin in Skin Burn Wounds - Someour Observation

Overview

Occurence of fibronectin was detected in paraffin sections of burn skin samples, excised fromsurviving patients, as well as skin samples removed from the death persons, who succumbed burnwounds. The other groups of samples, used for comparison with the previous one, consisted of theintact skin excisions and skin samples post-mortem exposed to thermic changes. Indirect immu-noperoxidase reaction was the immunohistochemical method used in all examinations.In post-mortem burn skin samples there was a loss of fibronectin activity in the epidermo-dermaljunction area as well as in the papillary dermis. In burn skin samples, excised from patients whoonly survived for very short time their (serious skin) burns, no evidence of any fibronectinactivity was seen. Also in two other cases, when patients - due to their severe burns - survived forseveral hours only, there were no conspicuous differences in the intensity of fibronectin activityseen in comparison with features found in the intact skin samples. Fibronectin activity was,however, increased in all other burn skin samples, where the survival time of patients was from30 minutes to 5 weeks and there were following differences in its intensity and also in its patternof distribution. In the 1st-degree and in a superficial 2nd-degree skin burn wounds, fibronectinwas also present in the epidermis. In the papillary dermis, fibronectin was distributed ratherdiffusely or in a spot-like pattern while in the reticular dermis, there was a tendency to formnet-like structures among collagen fibers. In deeper 2nd-degree and in the 3rd-degree burnwounds, fibronectin was deposited in vicinity of blood vessels and skin appendages in a fibrillarpattern. In 6 out of 11 samples, where the survival time ranged from 7 to 21 days, fibroblasts werearranged among fine collagen fibers and some of these cells exhibited positive fibronectin activityon their surface. Numerous fibroblasts with finely scattered fibronectin spots and also a decreaseof fibronectin activity were observed in more mature granulation tissue, present in burn skinsamples where survival time of patients was five weeks.

Key words:
fibronectin - burns - immunohistochemistry