Objective: To study the expression of heat shock protein 47 (HSP47) and its correlation to collagen deposition in pathological scar tissues.
Methods: The tissues of normal skin (10 cases), hypertrophic scar (19 cases), and keloid (16 cases) were obtained. The expression of HSP47 was detected by immunohistochemistry method. The collagen fiber content was detected by Sirius red staining and polarization microscopy method.
Results: Compared with normal skin tissues (Mean IOD 13 050.17 +/- 4 789.41), the expression of HSP47 in hypertrophic scar (Mean IOD 521 159.50 +/- 272 994.13) and keloid tissues (Mean IOD 407 440.30 +/- 295 780.63) was significantly high (P < 0.01). And there was a direct correlation between the expression of HSP47 and the total collagen fiber content (r = 0.386, P < 0. 05).
Conclusion: The HSP47 is highly expressed in pathological scar tissues and it may play an important role in the collagen deposition of pathological scar tissues.