Papers of The 2nd Japan Scar Workshop

10. Analysis of nerve subpopulations in hypertrophic scars and keloids

Noriko Hattori1, Kazuo Kishi1, Hiroko Sato2, Junji Takano3, Tastuo Nakajima1

1:Departments of Plastic Surgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
2:Department of Plastic Surgery, Tokyo Medical Center, National Hospital Organization, Tokyo, Japan
3:Department of Plastic Surgery, Social Insurance Saitama Hospital, Saitama, Japan


BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to investigate the characteristic nerve subpopulations in redness sites around keloids to provide a basis for new clinical treatments of keloids. METHODS: We quantified the number of nerves among four groups: keloids (center sites and redness sites), hypertrophic scars, and normal skin. All tissues were fixed with formalin and embedded in paraffin. Sections were stained with anti-neurofilament (NF), anti-S-100, and anti-CD31 antibodies. The numbers of nerves and blood vessels were counted and compared between the four groups. RESULTS: In contrast to normal skin, significantly higher numbers of nerves were observed in redness sites and center sites of keloids. There was no significant difference between redness sites and center sites of keloids. CONCLUSIONS: The increased numbers of nerves in redness sites of keloids was similar to center sites of keloids. Neural hypertrophy might result from the disrupted interplay between wound healing mechanisms and prevent keloid invasion by controlling innervation of redness sites around keloids.
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