Journal of Dali University ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (2): 4-9.DOI: 10. 3969 / j. issn. 2096-2266. 2025. 02. 002

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Shikonin Regulates the TGF-β1/p38 MAPK Signaling Pathway to Promote Skin Wound Healing in Rats

Jia Jingli1, Zhang Jingjing2, Li Yi3*   

  1. （1. Department of Dermatology, The Fifth People′s Hospital of Zhuhai, Zhuhai, Guangdong 519000, China; 2. Department of
    Psychiatry, The Fifth People′s Hospital of Zhuhai, Zhuhai, Guangdong 519000, China; 3. Department of Acute and Critical Care
    Medicine, The Fifth People′s Hospital of Zhuhai, Zhuhai, Guangdong 519000, China）
  • Received:2024-04-17 Revised:2024-06-20 Online:2025-02-15 Published:2025-02-26

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Abstract: Objective: To investigate the promotional effects of shikonin on the healing of skin wounds in rats and its impacts on the
TGF-β1/p38 MAPK signaling pathway. Methods: Forty male SD rats were used to establish full-thickness skin wound model, which
was randomly divided into 0.9% sodium chloride solution group, positive control group, low-dose shikonin group and high-dose
shikonin group. The area of skin wounds was measured and calculated on the day of modeling and on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th
days after modeling, and the materials were taken after 10 d of drug administration. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to observe
the histopathological characteristics of rat skin wounds in each group. Immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the expression of
TGF-β1, integrin β1, and CD34 in the tissues. Western blotting was adopted to quantitatively detect the protein expression of TGF-β1,
p38MAPK, phosphorylated p38 MAPK, and CD34 in the tissues. Results: Compared with the 0.9% sodium chloride solution group, the
wound area was significantly reduced in the positive control group, low-dose shikonin group, and high-dose shikonin group. After
shikonin intervention, the histopathological lesions of rat wounds were markedly improved, and the positive rates of hair follicle stem cell
markers integrin β1 and CD34 in the wound tissues significantly increased. The protein expression levels of TGF-β1 and p38 MAPK
were also significantly elevated, and the differences was statistically significant （P<0.05）. Conclusion: Shikonin effectively promotes
skin wound healing in rats and improves the histopathological lesions of rat wounds, abd its mechanism may be related to the stimulation
of hair follicle stem cell marker expression and the activation of the TGF-β1/p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

Key words: wound healing, shikonin, TGF-β1/p38 MAPK signaling pathway

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