Improved survival of rat ischemic cutaneous and musculocutaneous flaps after VEGF gene transfer

VEGF and Other Gene Therapies Improve Flap Survival-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies

Surgical flaps are basic tools in reconstructive surgery. Their use may be limited by ischemia and necrosis. Few therapies address or prevent them. Genetic therapy could improve flap outcomes, but primary studies in this field present conflicting results. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to appraise the efficacy of external gene delivery to the flap for its survival in preclinical models. This review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022359982). PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched to identify studies using animal models reporting flap survival outcomes following any genetic modifications. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to calculate mean differences in flap survival with accompanying 95% CI. The risk of bias was assessed using the SYRCLE tool. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to ascertain the robustness of primary analyses, and the evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. The initial search yielded 690 articles; 51 were eventually included, 36 of which with 1576 rats were meta-analyzed. VEGF gene delivery to different flap types significantly improved flap survival area by 15.66% (95% CI 11.80-19.52). Other interventions had smaller or less precise effects: PDGF-13.44% (95% CI 3.53-23.35); VEGF + FGF-8.64% (95% CI 6.94-10.34); HGF-5.61% (95% CI 0.43-10.78); FGF 3.84% (95% CI 1.13-6.55). Despite considerable heterogeneity, moderate risk of bias, and low quality of evidence, the efficacy of VEGF gene therapy remained significant in all sensitivity analyses. Preclinical data indicate that gene therapy is effective for increasing flap survival, but further animal studies are required for successful clinical translation.

Effect of hyperbaric oxygenation on random rat skin flaps vascularization

Purpose:

To evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) on angiogenesis in random rat skin flaps, by immunoexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A).

Methods:

Forty adult rats were divided into four groups: GE) epilated; GE/HBO) epilated subjected to HBO; GER) epilated submitted to dorsal skin flap; GER/HBO) epilated subjected to dorsal skin flap + HBO. HBO was performed with rats inside a chamber under atmosphere close to 100% oxygen and pressure of 2.4 absolute atmospheres, 2h per day during seven consecutive days. GE and GER groups were placed in the hyperbaric chamber without HBO. Then, under anesthesia, skin flaps were removed and separated into three portions relative to pedicle fixation. The samples were fixed in formalin and processed for paraffin embedding. Histological sections were submitted to immunohistochemistry for VEGF-A detection. The number of immunostained-blood vessels were counted under light microscopy.

Results:

GE and GE/HBO groups showed normal and similar skin morphology in the three flap portions. A fibrin-leukocyte crust, along with denatured collagen and intense leukocyte infiltrate, was mainly observed in the dermis of the medial and distal flap portions of GER group. Meanwhile, the GER/HBO group presented more regions with intact collagen and small areas of leukocyte infiltrate in the three flap regions. VEGF-A-immunostained blood vessels were largely seen in all regions of GE and GE/HBO groups, whereas no significant differences were found between these groups. A decrease in vascularization was noticed in GER and GER/HBO groups, which was more evident in the most distal portion of the flaps. However, the number of VEGF-A-immunostained blood vessels in GER/HBO group was significantly higher when compared to GER group.

Conclusions:

Hyperbaric oxygenation was associated with increased angiogenesis and improved viability of rat skin flaps.

Application of AAV2-mediated bFGF gene therapy on survival of ischemic flaps: effects of timing of gene transfer

Necrosis of surgically transferred flaps is a major problem in reconstructive surgery. We investigated efficacy of a new vector system-adeno-associated viral 2 (AAV2)-mediated bFGF gene transfer to enhance survival of the ischemic flap. Thirty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 gene therapy groups and 1 nontreated control of 9 or 10 each. 7.5 x 10(10) AAV2-bFGF viral particles were injected to the dorsum of each of the 29 rats; these rats were divided into 3 groups according to the timing of flap elevation. At the time of surgery, 1 week, and 2 weeks after surgery, flaps of 3 x 7 cm were raised. One week after surgery, flap viability was measured. Vascularization and immunohistochemical staining of the bFGF were evaluated of histologic sections. Flap viability was significantly improved by the AAV2-bFGF gene therapy at the time of surgery, and the flaps with the greatest survival area were found in the rats injected with AAV2-bFGF, 2 weeks before surgery. However, flap viability was significantly decreased by the gene therapy 1 week before surgery. Histologically, vascularity was increased in the groups with AAV2-bFGF injection and immunohistochemical staining showed greatly enhanced bFGF expression by gene transfer. The novel approach of AAV2-bFGF gene therapy shows encouraging manifestations in improving survival of flaps when the flaps are prefabricated during or 2 weeks before surgery.