A study on the promoting effect of L-arginine on the burn wound healing of the rats with diabetes

Objective To explore the effect and possible mechanism of L-arginine on burn wound healing of the rats with diabetie. Methods One hundred and twenty three Spraque-Dawley( SD) rats were enrolled in the study and randomly divided into four groups. i. e. group A (thirty rats as normal control),group B( diabetic control), group C( diabetes with L-arginine administration) and group D( diabetes with L-glycine administration). Diabetes was induced in rats in B, C and D groups with streptozotocin ( STZ), and they were subjected to 20% TBSA of deep partial thickness scalding on the back 8 weeks later. The percentage of healing areas, the histological and morphological changes, the levels of TGF-b1 released from wound site, the content of hydroxyproline and the glucose content in local wound tissues were observed and measured on the 0, 1 , 3 , 7, 14, and 21 post-burn days ( PBD). Results With the supplementation of L-arginine , the inflammatory reaction , the shedding of necrotic tissue and the advancement of the epithelial cells in the wound tissue appeared earlier and more markedly, with glucose content in the skin decreased and OHP and TGF-β₁, contents and the percentage of healing areas increased, compared with those in the group B( P< 0.05). Conclusion The healing of burn wounds in diabetic rats could be promoted by the use of L-arginine by reducing the glucose content in the skin and increasing TGF-β₁, synthesis and release.