Effect of systemic carnitine therapy on serum fibronectin level in diabetic rats.

Background: L-carnitine has been shown to enhance wound healing. There has, however, not been sufficient research on the effect carnitine has on diabetic wound healing. We investigated the relationship between the viability of full thickness skin grafts (FTSGs) and fibronectin (FN) serum levels in diabetic rats that were administered carnitine.

Materials And Methods: A total of 40 rats were divided into four groups of 10 rats each and operated on. The FTSG model was 10 × 3 cm, with the dorsal flap extending from the tip of the scapula to the hip joint. After surgery, group 1 (nondiabetic control, n = 10) and group 2 (diabetic control, n = 10) were given a sterile saline solution at 0.9% with a dose of 100 mg/kg/d intraperitoneally for 7 d after the surgery. Group 3 (diabetic sham, n = 10) contained diabetic rats and did not receive any agent after the surgery. The diabetic rats in group 4 (carnitine study diabetic, n = 10) were given carnitine with a dose of 100 mg/kg/d intraperitoneally for 7 d after the surgery.

Results: The percentages of viable areas in groups 1-4 were 70.38 ± 6.10%, 62.66 ± 1.55%, 62.59 ± 2.94%, and 73.48 ± 4.43%, respectively. The mean levels of FN, measured in milligram per deciliter, in groups-4 were 23.57 ± 3.27 mg/dL, 21.58 ± 2.35 mg/dL, 22.04 ± 2.71 mg/dL, and 27.11 ± 2.79 mg/dL, respectively. Furthermore, we found that there was a strong positive correlation (R = 0.509; P = 0.001) between FN and the viability of the FTSG.

Conclusions: We demonstrated that administering carnitine leads to an increase in diabetic wound healing. Further increasing the levels of the FN serum might have a role in this process.