This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Cr³⁺ on wound healing in mice. A total of 96 male C57BL6/J mice were randomly assigned to four groups (n=24/group). These mice were divided 4 groups and treated by normal saline, chromium chloride (CrCl₃), dexamethasone (Dex) as well as combination of CrCl₃ and Dex, respectively. Six mice of each group were sacrificed on day 7, 14, and 21 after skin incision. Skin wound area were measured and collected for histology evaluation, tissue of organs was collected for Cr³⁺ concentration determination as well as blood collected for serum IGF-I concentrations determination. Delayed healing was found in Dex group, and an accelerated healing was observed in both Cr groups. In histology, the delayed inflammation process, reepithelization, granulation tissue formation as well as collagen deposition were observed in Dex groups. However, reversed detrimental effects of Dex were observed in Cr groups. The concentrations of IGF-1 in Dex groups revealed significant decrement compared to other groups, but Cr³⁺ reversed this effect. Therefore, Cr³⁺ accelerated wound healing in surgical wound model of mice through the regulation of hormone concentrations such as IGF-1, meanwhile, the effects could be more prominent when animal is under stress or treated by exogenous glucocorticoids.

To Cite This Article: Hsieh YT, Hsu TH, Wang HC, Chen KS and Lee WM, 2019. Trivalent chromium restore dexamethasone-induced attenuation effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 and promote skin wound healing in mice. Pak Vet J, 39(2): 199-204. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2019.042