Physiol. Genomics 38: 149-157, 2009.
First published April 28, 2009; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.90383.2008
1094-8341/09 $8.00
Received 25 November 2008;
accepted in final form 23 April 2009.
Physiological Genomics 38:149-157 (2009)
1094-8341/09 $8.00 © 2009 American Physiological Society
Equine thrombospondin II and secreted protein acidic and cysteine-rich in a model of normal and pathological wound repair
Vincenzo Miragliotta
2,*,
Kevin Raphaël
1,*,
Zoë Ipiña
1,
Jacques G. Lussier
1 and
Christine L. Theoret
1
1 Département de biomédecine vétérinaire, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, St-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
2 Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Wound healing in horses is complicated, particularly when wounds are on the limb. The objectives of this study were to clone equine thrombospondin II (THBS2) and secreted protein acidic and cysteine-rich (SPARC) cDNAs and to compare the spatiotemporal expression of mRNAs and proteins during repair of body and limb wounds. These molecules were targeted in view of their potential biological contribution to angiogenesis, which is exacerbated during the repair of limb wounds in horses. Cloning was achieved by screening size-selected cDNA libraries previously derived from 7-day-old wounds. Expression was studied in unwounded skin and in samples from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 wk old wounds of the body and limb. Temporal gene expression was determined by semiquantitative RT-PCR, while protein expression was mapped immunohistochemically. The temporal pattern of expression for both genes was similar; wounding caused immediate upregulation of mRNA, which did not return to baseline by the end of the study, and overexpression was noted in body relative to limb wounds. Immunostaining for THBS2 and SPARC was induced by wounding, though no differences in stain location or intensity were detected between body and limb wounds. This study is the first to characterize equine cDNA for THBS2 and SPARC and to document mRNA expression over the different phases of repair. THBS2 and SPARC might modulate angiogenesis during wound healing in the horse, which could protect against the disproportionate fibroplasia commonly afflicting limb wounds and leading to the development of exuberant granulation tissue.
wound repair; horse model; THBS2; SPARC; angiogenesis
Copyright © 2009 by the American Physiological Society.