# The Role of Mast Cells in Healing Purulent Wounds Using a Drug from the Polyhexamethylene Guanidine Group with the Antiseptic Polyhexanide: An Ultrastructural Study

## TL;DR

This study explores how mast cells help heal infected wounds and how a specific antiseptic drug affects this process.

## Contribution

The study reveals the ultrastructural changes in mast cells during wound healing and the effect of polyhexanide on accelerating recovery.

## Key findings

- Mast cells show phase-specific degranulation during wound healing.
- Polyhexanide 0.1% speeds up the transition from inflammation to tissue repair.
- Treatment with polyhexanide promotes early activation of reparative processes in wound tissue.

## Abstract

Wound healing is a delicately regulated pathophysiological process based on molecular, cellular, and tissue interactions. Mast cells (MCs) are involved in the reparative process in all phases of wound healing, which indicates their general significance in reparative processes. The structural and functional changes in the MCs during the healing process correspond to the phase of the wound process and determine its course. In the inflammatory phase, rapid whole-granular degranulation of MCs with the secretion of biologically active proinflammatory substances that have a stimulating effect on inflammatory cells prevailed. In the proliferation phase, the maximum number of MCs per unit area of wound tissue and the maximum degranulation index were noted. In the phase of granulated tissue remodeling, the amount and functional activity of MCs sharply decrease, which contributes to the completion of the healing process with the formation of a fully fledged normotrophic scar. The gradual degranulation of MCs was characteristic of the proliferation and remodeling phases. The treatment of purulent wounds with a drug from the polyhexamethylene guanidine group with the antiseptic polyhexanide 0.1% contributed to a temporary shift in the phases of the wound process while maintaining its general patterns, while the activation of the process occurred at an earlier time than in the control group of animals without local treatment. The results obtained showed that the use of a drug from the polyhexamethylene guanidine group with the antiseptic polyhexanide 0.1% for the treatment of purulent wounds quickly stops the inflammatory response and creates conditions for the development of the reparative abilities of granulation tissue cells, and primarily, mast cells.