Comparison of therapeutic effects of encapsulated Mesenchymal stem cells in Aloe vera gel and Chitosan-based gel in healing of grade-II burn injuries

Esmaeel Sharifi; Mohammad Chehelgerdi; Ali Fatahian-Kelishadrokhi; Farshad Yazdani-Nafchi; Korosh Ashrafi-Dehkordi

doi:10.1016/j.reth.2021.02.007

Comparison of therapeutic effects of encapsulated Mesenchymal stem cells in Aloe vera gel and Chitosan-based gel in healing of grade-II burn injuries

Regen Ther. 2021 Mar 21:18:30-37. doi: 10.1016/j.reth.2021.02.007. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Esmaeel Sharifi^{1

2}, Mohammad Chehelgerdi³, Ali Fatahian-Kelishadrokhi³, Farshad Yazdani-Nafchi⁴, Korosh Ashrafi-Dehkordi⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
² Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
³ Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
⁴ Department of Biology, Nourdanesh Institute of Higher Education, Meymeh, Isfahan, Iran.
⁵ Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.

Abstract

Treatment of burn injuries with Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a great promise due to their unique properties. As two natural and functional wound dressing, Chitosan and Aloe-Vera gel assist wound regeneration by providing a proper environment. In the current study, we aimed to compare the effect of encapsulated BMSCs in Chitosan-based gel and Aloe-Vera gel on the healing of grade-II burn injuries compared to other groups in the rat. After creation of a 2 × 2 cm grade-II burn on dorsal skin of rats, treatments were performed for each group. The wound closure rate and healing properties were evaluated by histopathological analysis on 7, 14, 21 and, 28 days post-treatment. The expression rate of VEGF, Collagen-I and Collagen-III genes was also assessed on days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 performing qRT-PCR. The full wound healing with inconsiderable scar formation was achieved for Aloe-vera/BMSCs and Chitosan/BMSCs group on 28th day post-treatment. Pathological results also demonstrated the highest angiogenesis and granulation tissue formation for Aloe-vera/BMSCs and Chitosan/BMSCs groups respectively. The expression level of VEGF, Collagen-I, and Collagen-III genes was significantly higher in these groups on days 14 and 21, compared to other groups. Results demonstrated the synergistic effect of BMSCs when combined with Chitosan or Aloe-vera gel enhanced the healing process of wound healing more than chitosan gel treatment. Therefore, this gel can be considered as effective approaches for treatment of burn injuries.

Keywords: ASCs, (Adipose-derived stem cell); Aloe vera gel; BMSCs, (Bone marrow-derived-MSCs); Burn; Chitosan; DMEM-LG, (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium-low glucose); FGF, (Fibroblast growth factor); IFN-γ, (Interferon-γ); IL-1, (Interleukin-1); MSCs, (Mesenchymal stem cells); Mesenchymal stem cells; TGF-β, (Transforming growth factor-β); TNF-α, (Tumor necrosis factor-α); VEGF, (Vascular endothelial growth factor); Wound healing; bFGF, (basic fibroblast growth factor).