Figure 1.

Plasma treatment significantly accelerated wound healing in both male and female mice. (A-B) Representative images of wound healing progress in the treatment (treatment time as indicated) and control groups on days 0 (I), 6 (I`) and 9 (I``). White circles represent wound margins in males (A) and females (B). (C) Wound closure was monitored by transmitted light stereomicroscopy and quantified by ImageJ software on every third day over 15 days and related to wound size on the day of surgery (d0). The wound closure rate is plotted as the percentage reduction of the original wound area over time for males (left) and females (right) when compared to the untreated controls. (D-E) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), picrosirius red (PSR), keratin 1 (KRT1, red), and keratin 14 (KRT14, green) staining of ear wounds on day 15. Quantification of collagen fibers using fluorescence microscopy (diagrams in D) and qPCR of KRT1, KRT14, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) on all time points (diagrams in E). Males and females were used on d15 (as indicated, n > 8); on d3/d6 only females were available for the measurements (n > 3). Data are presented as mean +/- S.D.; *p<0.05, **p<0.01, as compared to controls (ctrl / 0 s) at each day and assay; scale bars are 1 mm (A) and 50 µm (D-E).