Effects Of Depleted Uranium Contamination On Wound Healing

Objective: During the Gulf War and Balkan War , depleted uranium(DU) ammunition was used. Its legacy , Gulf War Syndrome , is a complex , progressive , incapacitating multiorgen system disorder. In order to examine the effects of depleted uranium (DU) on wound healing and the mechanism concerned and provide some guidance for clinic treatment with wound contaminated by DU.Method: impaired wound healing was studied in Wistar rat, full-thickness skin wounds were made on the left hip and then treated with vehicle, lead contamination and DU contamination respectively. Gross observation, histopathology, immunochemistry and image analysis were used to study the wound healing process.Result: We found that 1) The wound closure was delayed by DU, and the healing rates decreased along with increase of the dose of DU; 2) The wounds treated with DU contamination exhibited significant delays in the entry of inflammatory cells into the wound, the formation of granulation and in wound closure when compared to the wounds treated with vehicle alone and with lead contamination. 3) TNF and TNF-a increased while The expressions of TGF-B,bFGF and their receptors decreased obviously on wound contaminated by DU .Conclusion: DU contamination may be harmful on wound healing.