Complements C3 and C5 Individually and in Combination Increase Early Wound Strength in a Rat Model of Experimental Wound Healing

Background. Complements C3 and C5 have independently been shown to augment and increase wound healing and strength. Our goal was to investigate the combinatorial effect of complements C3 and C5 on wound healing. Methods. Each rat served as its own control where topical collagen was applied to one incision and 100 nM of C3 and C5 in collagen vehicle was applied to the other incision (n = 6). To compare between systemic effects, a sham group of rats (n = 6) was treated with collagen alone on one wound and saline on the other. At day 3, the tissue was examined for maximal breaking strength (MBS) and sectioned for histological examination. Results. There was a statistically significant 88% increase in MBS with the topical application of C3C5 when compared to sham wounds (n < 0.05). This was correlated with increased fibroblast and collagen deposition in the treated wounds. Furthermore, there appeared to be an additive hemostatic effect with the C3C5 combination. Conclusions. The combination of complements C3 and C5 as a topical application drug to skin wounds significantly increased wound healing maximum breaking strength as early as 3 days.