Equine Interleukin-10 as a potential treatment for preventing the development of proud flesh in horses

Abstract

Large skin wounds on the limbs of horses are commonly seen in New Zealand, and are a frequent reason for euthanasia. Many wounds can't be sutured and must heal by second intention, requiring extensive wound management. A common complication encountered in these wounds is an excessive accumulation of healing tissue, or "proud flesh ". There is currently no proven method to speed up wound healing in horses or to successfully prevent the formation of proud flesh. This project builds on previous work funded by the NZERF, where we found that the protein interleukin-10 (IL-10), derived from a NZ sheep virus, was able to control the enzymes required for remodeling of fibrous tissue in a live fibro-proliferative model (i.e. "proud flesh").