TY - JOUR AU - Kirketerp-Møller, Klaus AU - Doerfler, Petra AU - Schoefmann, Nicole AU - Wolff-Winiski, Barbara AU - Niazi, Omid AU - Pless, Vibeke AU - Karlsmark, Tonny AU - Ågren, Magnus S. PY - 2022/09/05 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Biomarkers of Skin Graft Healing in Venous Leg Ulcers JF - Acta Dermato-Venereologica JA - Acta Derm Venereol VL - 102 IS - SE - Articles DO - 10.2340/actadv.v102.201 UR - https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actadv/article/view/201 SP - adv00749 AB - <p class="p1">There is a need for biomarkers that predict the success of transplantation of venous leg ulcers (with autologous split-thickness skin grafts). The primary objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the association between split-thickness skin graft healing in venous leg ulcers and candidate wound fluid biomarkers representing inflammatory cell and endogenous proteinase activities, and bioactivity. A secondary objective was to compare biomarker levels of the 17 venous leg ulcers with sterile split-thickness skin graft donor-site wounds in another 10 patients with venous leg ulcers. Wound fluids were collected for 24 h using a validated method. The concentration of preoperative matrix metalloproteinase-9 in wound fluid was higher in venous leg ulcers showing good healing (<em>n </em>= 10) than in venous leg ulcers showing poor healing (<em>n </em>= 7) 12 weeks after transplantation with meshed split-thickness skin grafts. The diagnostic value of matrix metalloproteinase-9 was good according to receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. Matrix metalloproteinase activity in wound fluids from split-thickness skin graft donor-site wounds increased as a function of time and healing, but was still lower than matrix metalloproteinase activity in venous leg ulcer wound fluids, which showed increased levels of most biomarkers except for matrix metalloproteinase-9 and matrix metalloproteinase-2. In conclusion, wound fluid matrix metalloproteinase-9 concentration is a potential predictive biomarker of split-thickness skin graft healing in venous leg ulcers.</p><p class="p1">This article has a related <a href="https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actadv/workflow/index/201/10.2340/actadv.v102.4517"><strong>Corrigendum</strong></a>.</p> ER -