Reparo cutâneo de úlceras de pressão e óleo de oliva: um novo alvo terapêutico

Abstract

Cutaneous wound healing is a complex biologic and molecular response to restore the integrity of skin after an injury. The process of wound healing occurs into 3 overlapping phases: inflammation, proliferation, and remodulation. Sometimes the wound healing is impaired, leading to chronic wounds. Repeated cycles of ischemia-reperfusion leads an occurrence of a kind of chronic wounds, the pressure ulcers. These chronic lesions have an impaired wound healing due overproduction of reactive oxygen species and exacerbated inflammatory response. Olive oil is a natural produt rich in oleic acid (monounsaturated fatty n-9) and phenolic compounds that act decreasing the inflammatory response and has antioxidant properties, respectively. Our goal was to investigated the effect of olive oil administration on wound healing of pressure ulcers using a murine model of ischemia-reperfusion induced skin injury. Male Swiss mice were daily treated with olive oil or water until sacrifice. One day after the beginning of treatment, two cycles of ischemia-reperfusion by external application of two magnetic plates were performed in skin to induced pressure ulcer formation. At 3rd, 7th and 14th after the injury, the animals were sacrificed and lesions with adjacent skin were collected and processed for microscopic and biochemical analysis. Oral administration of olive oil accelerated radical oxygen species and nitric oxide synthesis and reduced oxidative damage in proteins and lipids when compared to control group. The inflammatory cell infiltration was reduced in olive oil group when compared to control group. The reepithelialization and blood vessel number were higher in the olive oil group than in the control group. The collagen deposition, myofibroblastic differentiation and wound contraction were accelerated in olive oil group when compared to control group. In conclusion, olive oil administration improves cutaneous healing of pressure ulcers in mice through the acceleration of the radical oxygen species and nitric oxide synthesis, which reduces oxidative damage and inflammation and promotes dermal reconstruction and wound closure.