Effect of cimetidine on wound healing in rats

Abstract

Cimetidine, an H-2 antagonist, is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs and is used in the management of peptic ulcer disease and prevention of stress ulcerations following major trauma or operations. It has been shown that histamine has a stimulatory effect on wound healing which is believed to be mediated through H-2 receptors. We hypothesized that cimetidine would have an inhibitory effect on wound healing. Fifty-two adult rats were divided into two groups: Group A was placed on a standard chow and Group B was given chow supplemented with cimetidine (300 mg/Kg diet), a dose equivalent to that clinically used in man and effective in inhibiting gastric hypersecretion in the rat. Ten days later, all rats underwent a dorsal skin incision under pentobarbital anesthesia and implantation of a polyvinyl alcohol sponge subcutaneously. Animals were maintained on their respective diets. Rats were killed with ether five and ten days postoperatively, the wounds were excised and breaking strength measured. Sponge hydroxyproline content was measured. No significant difference in breaking strength or sponge hydroxyproline content was found between the two groups. We thus conclude that cimetidine has no effect on wound healing in rats when used in doses equivalent to the clinical dose in man.

The Accelerating Effect of Histamine on the Cutaneous Wound-Healing Process Through the Action of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor

“…Histamine has been expected to influence the wound-healing process. However, before this study, the role of histamine in wound healing was controversial, since there were reports leading to conflicting conclusions; those supporting that histamine improves the healing process (Fitzpatrick and Fisher, 1982;Kupietzky and Levi-Schaffer, 1996), others describing no particular effects on wound healing (Goldman et al, 1986;Yoshida et al, 1989), and reports indicating the healing process was impaired by histamine (Kenyon et al, 1983;Ashida et al, 2001). Epidermal keratinocyte migration is known to be one of the pivotal events during cutaneous wound healing (Singer and Clark, 1999).…”

Experimental mast cell activation improves connective tissue repair in the perforated rat mesentery

“…However, we found no suppression of healing with the dosage of lupitidine chosen. Nor did Goldman et al [28] find any effect on breaking strength or hydroxyproline content of subcutaneous sponges in the rat during inhibition of histamine H2-receptors by cimetidine. The mast ceil activating drug, Compound 48/80, is inert from a proliferogenic and angiogenic point of view in the mesentery of the guinea pig, a species whose mast ceils are unresponsive to 48/80 [3,15,29].…”

Wound healing of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer in rats and the effects of cimetidine and calcitonin, with special reference to prolylhydroxylase and collagenase enzyme activity

“…Goldman et ai.16 hypothesized that cimetidine would have an inhibitory effect on wound healing, since histamine has been shown to have a stimulatory effect on wound healing, which effect is believed to be mediated through Hz-receptors. 39 However, Goldman et al 16 observed that cimetidine had no effect on wound healing in skin incisions and in implantation of polyvinyl alcohol sponges in rats. In the present study, cimetidine did not affect PHase activity in the acute or healing stages of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcers, but it did increase the activity of collagenase on the 10th day, although this increase was not significant.…”