Experimental Study on the Effect of Caffeine Hydrogel on the Expression of TGF -β1, α-SMA and Collagen in Hypertrophic Scar of Rabbit Ears

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of topical use of caffeine hydrogel on hypertrophic scar in a rabbit ear wound model. Nine rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: control group, caffeine hydrogel group, and matrix group. Punched defects were established on each rabbit’s ear which resulted in a hypertrophic scar. When the wound epithelialization and scar hyperplasia could be seen, control group did not do any treatment, while caffeine hydrogel group and matrix group were treated with caffeine hydrogel and hydrogel matrix, respectively. After 3 weeks of administration, the general morphological changes of scar were observed, and the scar tissue of rabbit ears was stained with HE and Masson. The relative expressions of TGF β-1, α-SMA, type I collagen, and type III collagen in scar tissue were detected by Western blot. In all three groups, findings showed that caffeine hydrogel can inhibit scar growth by reducing the expression of TGF β-1, reducing the proliferation of fibroblasts, improving collagen arrangement and reducing collagen deposition. The overall study shows efficacy and mechanism of caffeine. It concluded that caffeine could be an effective therapeutic agent for hypertrophicscars.