Accelerated adhesion of grafted skins by laser-induced stress wave-based gene transfer of hepatocyte growth factor

In our previous study, we delivered plasmid DNA coding for human hepatocyto growth factor (hHGF) to rat skin grafts based on laser-induced stress wave (LISW), by which production of CD31-positive cells in the grafted skins was found to be enhanced, suggesting improved angiogenesis. In this study, we validated the efficacy of this method to accelerate adhesion of grafted skins; reperfusion and reepithelialization in the grafted skins were examined. As a graft, dorsal skin of a rat was exsected and its subcutaneous fat was removed. Plasmid DNA expression vector for hHGF was injected into the graft; on its back surface a laser target with a transparent sheet for plasma confinement was placed, and irradiated with three nanosecond laser pulses at a laser fluence of 1.2 J/cm2 (532 nm; spot diameter, 3 mm) to generate LISWs. After the application of LISWs, the graft was transplanted onto its donor site. We evaluated blood flow by laser Doppler imaging and analyzed reepithelialization based on immunohistochemistry as a function of postgrafting time. It was found that both reperfusion and reepithelialization were significantly enhanced for the grafts with gene transfection than for normal grafts; reepithelialization was completed within 7 days after transplantation with the transfected grafts. These findings demonstrate that adhesion of grafted skins can be accelerated by delivering HGF gene to the grafts based on LISWs.