Objective: to investigate the reparative abilities of the skin of patients with injuries of the trunk and limb covering tissues after trauma by revealing keratinocyte receptors for type I, III type collagens labeled with CD44.
Materials and methods: 40 patients with excessive wound surface (more than 1%) were included into the study group. During the surgical restoration of the covering tissues, the skin was collected (up to 1´1 cm2). The solution with keratinocytes marked CD44, which is specific antibodies to keratinocyte receptors that are sensitive to collagen I, III types.
Results. The indices of CD44 expression indicate the presence of 95% (p<0.05) cases of marked keratinocytes with receptors for type I, III type collagen in the parawound region. The average index of marked keratinocytes in the lesion zone M=60.42±7.38 (p<0.05), for sufficiently high Kv = 34.55 (p<0.05), which is explained by the heterogeneity of patients in the group by age, sex, the lack of regulatory indicators.
All patients in the stage of closure of the defect performed plastic free autodermotransplant. In 3 (7.5%) cases (the area of damage exceeded 3% of the area) a partial lysis of the autodermotransplant arose, which required a repeated reconstruction.
Conclusions. 1. The suggested research technique allows to determine in a short time (2 days) the reparative potentialities of the skin in the area of damage by detecting the amount of keratinocytes with receptors to the collagen in the affected and reliably predict the result of the reconstruction.
2. Examination of CD44 expression as a screening test in patients with extensive wound defects, along with standard methods, allowed satisfactory results of operative.