Gonadal hormones differently modulate cutaneous wound healing of chronically stressed mice

Highlight
• Gonadal hormones modulate the effects of psychological stress on cutaneous wound healing of male and female mice.

Gonadal hormones influence physiological responses to stress and cutaneous wound healing. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of gonadal hormones on cutaneous wound healing in chronically stressed mice. Male and female mice were gonadectomized, and after 25 days, they were spun daily at 115 rpm for 15 min every hour until euthanasia. Twenty-eight days after the gonadectomy, an excisional lesion was created. The animals were killed 7 or 14 days after wounding, and the lesions were collected. Myofibroblast density, macrophage number, catecholamine level, collagen deposition, and blood vessel number were evaluated. In the intact and gonadectomized groups, stress increased the plasma catecholamine levels in both genders. In intact groups, stress impaired wound contraction and re-epithelialization and increased the macrophage number in males but not in females. In addition, stress compromised myofibroblastic differentiation and blood vessel formation and decreased collagen deposition in males but not in females. In contrast to intact mice, wound healing in ovariectomized female mice was affected by stress, while wound healing in castrated male mice was not. In conclusion, gender differences contribute to the cutaneous wound healing of chronically stressed mice. In addition, androgens contribute to the stress-induced impairment of the healing of cutaneous wounds but estrogens inhibit it.