Trial Information

Keratinocyte Growth Factor, Interleukin 1 Beta, 6, 8, 10, 12 and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha in Burned Patients.

KERATINOCYTE GROWTH FACTOR AND CYTOKINES IN SKIN BURNS.

INTRODUCTION: Intense inflammatory responses are activated by burns that affect a large
total body surface area. Changes in plasma levels of cytokines after burns occur before
metabolic abnormalities unsettle the patient. So it may be possible to develop therapeutic
interventions that may attenuate the acute inflammatory response by decreasing the
expression of these cytokines. The importance of growth factors in the healing process was
demonstrated in cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts. The keratinocyte growth factor (KGF)
is a growth factor active in the repair of wounds, being the most potent stimulator of
mitotic cells.

PURPOSE: To assess the level of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8,
IL-10, IL-12 and TNF-alfa of patients with burns produced by cultured primary dermal
fibroblasts and the gene expression.

METHODS: 10 patients will be include (05 patients in the study group and 05 patients in the
control group) admitted to the Burns Care Unit of the Discipline of Plastic Surgery, Federal
University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) between 25% and 50% of total body surface area (TBSA),
deep second-degree or third degree, with need to perform surgical debridement. The control
group will be constituted by patients with less than 5% of TBSA, deep second-degree or third
degree, with need to perform surgical debridement. The authors will evaluate the levels of
IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alfa) in samples of
the culture media of primary dermal fibroblasts of patients selected using flow cytometry.
The level of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), in the same samples will be evaluated by
ELISA. The keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) and TNF-alfa gene expression will be evaluated
in the culture of primary dermal fibroblasts from the same patients. The gene expression of
KGF and cytokines will be done by qRT-PCR and RT-PCR array. The experiments will be done in
duplicate.

Key words: burns, cytokines, inflammation, keratinocyte growth factor, fibroblasts.