Chronic, non-healing wounds pose a serious public health issue and the need for new treatment methods is paramount. Dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane has potential wound healing properties, due to the enrichment of growth factors and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its auxiliary advantage on diabetic wounds with demonstrated safety and efficacy in animal models has not been extensively documented. This study aimed at evincing the wound-healing property of dehydrated human amnion chorion membrane in diabetic and non-diabetic rats. An excisional wound model was developed in 36 male Sprague-Dawley rats that were randomly classified into six groups for two experiments. The non-diabetic rat group included non-diabetic control (G1), dHACM treatment (G2), and dHACM dressing + saline-treatment (G3); (n = 6). Similarly, the diabetic group included diabetic control (G4), dHACM treatment (G5), and dHACM dressing + saline-treatment (G6); (n = 6). The results of wound contractility rate, re-epithelialization, grading of granulation tissue, and collagen deposition from histopathological observation demonstrated that in comparison with the other groups (G1, G2, G4, and G5), the animal groups treated with dHACM dressing + saline-treatment (G3 and G6) had superior regenerative effects in excisional wound model. Also, in the animals of G5 and G6 of the diabetic group, there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) in the levels of glucose, urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphate (ALP), when compared to G4 animals during the experiment. It is evident from this study that dHACM could be applied as a potential wound healing biomaterial, especially in diabetic conditions.
Keywords: dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane; diabetic rat; growth factors; neovascularization; re-epithelization; wound healing.