Abstract
BACKGROUND: Treatment with BMMSCs has anti-inflammatory, tissue regenerative, angiogenic, and immune-stimulating effects. When using as sheets or accumulate, BMMSCs causes the development of neoangiogenesis in damaged skin tissue. Diabetes, a metabolic disorder, can negatively affect many physiological functions, including the process of skin injury repair. This adverse impact may increase the risk of skin surgery. RSF is commonly used in reconstructive surgery. The terminal part of the RSF is often affected by necrosis because of impaired blood flow, which is exacerbated in diabetes. This study investigated the effect of stem cells, applied as accumulated or cell sheets, along with RSF surgery on skin capillaries in STZ-induced diabetic rats. METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into three groups (n = 10): diabetes-RSF control, diabetes-RSF local applied stem cells (loc-BMMSCs), diabetes-RSF applied stem cells as accumulated or cell sheets (ac-BMMSCs). Two weeks after the STZ injection, RSF surgery and stem cell therapy (6 × 109) were carried out (day zero). Furthermore, stereological methods were used to investigate the capillary patterns among the groups. Anti-CD31/PCAM1 immunohistochemistry was also used for further confirmation of changes in capillary parameters. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that capillaries were protected by MSC sheets in the flap tissue, and the thickness of the epidermal layer was improved, indicationg the possible beneficial effects of MSC sheets on diabetic wound treatment. CONCLUSION: Stem cells, as ac-BMMSCs, may decrease the levels of wound healing complications in diabetes and can be considered as a cell therapy option in such conditions.