Bone Marrow Stem Cell and Decellularized Human Amniotic Membrane for the Treatment of Nonhealing Wound After Radiation Therapy.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, our aim was to create a bioactive wound dressing that combined decellularized and lyophilized human amniotic membrane and freeze-dried rat bone marrow stem cells for the treatment of nonhealing wounds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the decellularized human amniotic membrane, sodium dodecyl sulfate and 1% Triton X-100 were used. The mononuclear fraction of bone marrow stem cells was isolated by density gradient centrifugation using Ficoll Paque Plus (GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). Investigations were conducted on Lewis inbred rats with the radiation wound model (dose of 60 Gy). On day 20 after application of radiation, the skin was excised around the radiation burn. The wound was treated with decellularized human amniotic membrane seeded with and without freeze-dried bone marrow stem cells.

RESULTS: The use of a decellularized amniotic membrane for closing the burn wound increased the rate of healing by 2.5 times; the use of a decellularized amniotic membrane seeded with bone marrow stem cells or freeze-dried bone marrow stem cells increased the rate of wound healing by approximately 4 times.

CONCLUSIONS: Administration of freeze-dried bone marrow stem cell may represent a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of nonhealing wounds and other conditions. We observed no evidence of local or systemic complications related to the procedure. However, further efforts with better protocol design for future studies are needed.