Evaluation of the healing potential of Nile tilapia skin collagen in traumatic oral ulcers in male rats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the healing potential of Nile tilapia skin collagen using a rat model with experimentally induced traumatic oral ulcers. DESIGN: Male Wistar rats were segregated into three experimental groups (n = 8/group/euthanasia day). Ulcers were induced using a dermatological punch on the left buccal mucosa. The rats were then euthanized on days 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 (ntotal=120 rats). Each group received topical treatment, 2x/day, with 1 % Nile tilapia skin collagen orabase (experimental group), only orabase (negative control), or Oncilom-A® orabase (positive control). Ulcer area, closure percentage, and body mass variation were measured. Slides were prepared for histological analysis, which included Picrosirius red staining (collagen analysis), and immunohistochemistry (platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and transforming growth factor-beta). RESULTS: On day 15, the experimental and positive control groups displayed smaller ulcer areas, a higher percentage of closure, complete re-epithelialization, superior histological repair scores, and a reduced count of polymorphonuclear cells in comparison to the negative control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the experimental group exhibited an increased number of blood vessels, total collagen (types I and III) and expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and transforming growth factor-beta relative to the negative and positive control groups (p < 0.05). By day 20, the experimental group showed a more significant weight gain compared to the other groups (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Nile tilapia skin collagen orabase optimizes the healing of traumatic ulcers by stimulating re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, and collagenesis. Transforming growth factor-beta plays a significant role in this process.

Neovaginoplasty with tilapia fish skin: a series of eleven cases.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome affects about 1 in 5000 live female births and is associated with gonadal dysgenesis and primary amenorrhea. Neovaginoplasty has been established as an appropriate treatment option for patients who have failed or denied dilation therapy. In search of accessible, economical material with low risk of complications, the team proposed the use of Nile tilapia fish skin (NTFS) as an innovative biomaterial in the neovaginoplasty procedure for vaginal agenesis management. NTFS has noninfectious microbiota, morphologic structure comparable to human skin and high in vivo bioresorption. METHODS: In this descriptive study, the method offered an anatomical and functional neovagina to 11 patients efficiently, quickly and safely. Correct post-surgical dilation is still extremely important to keep the neovagina's size > 6 cm. RESULTS: Histological and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated the formation of a stratified squamous epithelium with strong marking for cytokeratins, FGF and EGFR, similar to healthy adult vaginal tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Since NTFS is a low cost and easily accessible biomaterial, this technique proves to be an inexpensive therapeutic possibility for the health system with excellent advantages for patients.

Lyophilised tilapia skin as a xenograft for superficial partial thickness burns: a novel preparation and storage technique.

Despite a considerable decrease in its incidence worldwide, burns remain the fourth most common type of trauma. The majority of burns are small, with 75% of injuries treated on an outpatient basis. Tilapia skin, as a biological material, has been suggested as an option for the management of burn wounds. After good results were obtained with the use of a glycerolised version of tilapia skin in burned children and adults, it was hypothesised that similar outcomes could be achieved with the use of a lyophilised version of tilapia skin. We report the case of a 33-year-old female patient with scalds to the upper abdomen, and both breasts, arms and forearms. Involvement of 10% of total body surface area with superficial partial thickness burns was calculated. The good adherence of tilapia skin to the wound bed, a 10-day period for complete re-epithelialisation of the wounds and the absence of side effects suggested that the lyophilised version of tilapia skin is effective for burn treatment. Compared with glycerolisation, lyophilisation is thought to permit extended storage of sterile tissue and decreased costs related to distribution and transport, but further studies are needed to confirm this.

Characterization of the microbiota of the skin and oral cavity of Oreochromis niloticus / Caracterização da microbiota da pele e cavidade oral de Oreochromis niloticus

Introduction: Fish are usually exposed to higher microbial loads than land or air animals. The microbiota of fish mostly consists of Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Shewanella putrefasciens, Acinetobacter spp. and Moraxella spp. Objective: to analyze the oral cavity, and skin tissue microbiota on the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), a fish species raised commercially in Brazil. Methods: Samples were collected from the oral cavity and skin of 20 Nile tilapia specimens (Oreochromis niloticus), each weighing approximately 1,000 grams. The samples were cultures for quantitative analysis on sheep blood agar (SBA) and chromID™ CPS® agar (CPS). Results: Eleven different bacterial species were identified on CPS and SBA plates. Gram-negative species were the most prevalent, while gram-positive Globicatella spp, Streptococcus spp and Enterococcus faecalis were also found. Pseudomonas aeruginosa species were isolated from all samples. Gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis was found in 70 and 60% of the skin and oral samples, respectively. Conclusion: For all samples studied, the microbial load was less than 100,000 colony-forming units - CFU/g of tissue. This value is a cutoff standardized for the American Society of Microbiology to differentiate the causal agent from the colonizers. In light of this result and considering the absence of infectious signs in the fish samples, we conclude that the CFU values found in this study reflect a normal, non-infectious colonization/microbiota. (AU)

Introdução: Os peixes são normalmente expostos a cargas microbianas mais elevadas do que os animais em terra ou ar. O perfil da microbiota em peixes compreende principalmente Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Shewanella putrefasciens, Acinetobacter spp., e Moraxella spp. Objetivo: analisar a microbiota da cavidade oral e do tecido da pele no Tilápia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus), comercialmente criado no Brasil. Métodos: Vinte espécimes de Tilápia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus), cada uma pesando cerca de 1.000 gramas, foram submetidas a coleta de amostras da cavidade oral e da pele. Estas amostras foram cultivadas quantitativamente em ágar sangue de carneiro (SBA) e chromID® CPS® agar (CPS). Resultados: Foram identificadas 11 diferentes espécies de bactérias em placas CPS e SBA. Os resultados mostram que bacilos gram-negativos são os mais prevalentes. Cocos gram-positivos como Globicatella spp, Streptococcus spp e Enterococcus faecalis também foram encontrados. Espécies de Pseudomonas aeruginosa foram isoladas a partir de todas as amostras. Enterococcus faecalis foi encontrado em 70 e 60% das amostras de pele e por via oral, respectivamente. Conclusão: Os resultados deste estudo mostram, para todas as amostras estudadas, uma carga de CFU de menos de 100.000 unidades formadoras de colonias - UFC / g de tecido. Este valor é um cutoff padronizado pela Sociedade Americana de Microbiologia, a fim de diferenciar o agente causal dos colonizadores. Diante destes resultados e considerando a ausência de sinais infecciosos nas amostras de peixes, conclui-se que os valores CFU's encontrados neste estudo consistem em colonização/ microbiota. (AU)