Abstract:

Objective To investigate the feasibility of repair of vaginal mucosa defect by linked human acellular amniotic membrane (HAM) in rabbits. Methods Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were used as the experimental cells to evaluate the cytotoxicity of linked HAM in vitro. Sixteen adult female New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into experiment group and control group (n=8), and vaginal mucosa defect models were prepared in two groups. The vaginal mucosa defect in experiment group was managed with linked HAM, while no treatment was conducted in control group. Full-thickness tissues of posterior vaginal wall were obtained 3 d, 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after surgery, and gross observation and HE staining were performed to evaluate the repair of vaginal mucosa defect. Results There was no significant difference in the absorbance value between linked HAM solution and negative controls (P>0.05), and the cytotoxicity graded 0 to I, which indicated that linked HAM met the standard for medical biomaterials in cytotoxicity. No wound infection was found in two groups of rabbits. Three days and 1 week after surgery, there was more inflammatory cell infiltration in two groups, and more proliferation of vaginal epithelial cells and smooth muscle development were found in experiment group. Two weeks after surgery, the vaginal mucosa defect was covered by a layer of vaginal epithelial tissues in experiment group, while only part of the vaginal epithelium covered the defect in control group. Four weeks after surgery, there was no significant difference between vaginal mucosa defect and surrounding normal tissues in experimental group, while the newly generated vaginal epithelial cells grew disorderly in control group. Conclusion Linked HAM may be the favorable material in repair of vaginal mucosa defect in rabbits.

Key words: human acellular amniotic membrane, wound repair, defect of vaginal mucosa, cytotoxicity test