Enhanced Burn Wound Healing and Conversion Prevention Through Inhibition of High Mobility Group Box 1 in a Scald Burn Rat Model

Severe burns trigger hyperinflammatory and hypermetabolic responses, leading to systemic organ damage. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an inflammatory peptide released from injured sites. This study investigated wound progression in scald burn rats treated with anti-HMGB1 antibody (Ab). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham burn (n = 5), burn with vehicle treatment (n = 8), and burn with anti-HMGB1 Ab treatment (n = 8). After 30% total body surface area burns, rats were treated with chicken IgY (burn/vehicle group) or anti-HMGB1 Ab (burn/treatment group). Skin samples were collected at 3 and 14 days after burn for histological analysis of wound composition and healing. ANOVA and post hoc Tukey tests were used for statistical analysis. Anti-HMGB1 Ab improved healing, increasing epithelial thickness on day 14 compared to sham (58 μm ± 22 μm vs 21 μm ± 3 μm; P < .01) and dermal thickness over vehicle (1.7 mm ± 0.23 mm vs 1.4 mm ± 0.25 mm; P < .05). Panniculus carnosus muscle loss was lower in the anti-HMGB1 Ab-treated group than vehicle group (-6.4% ± 1.5% vs -70.9% ± 25%; P = .01). High mobility group box 1 expression decreased in epithelium on day 14 (17.15% ± 11.94% vs 60.83% ± 5.28%; P = .02) and dermal inflammation decreased significantly on day 3 (0.45% ± 0.10% vs 4.05% ± 0.49%; P < .0001). Reducing circulating HMGB1 levels decreases burn wound conversion with improved wound healing.