Research Article Bubaline Cholecyst Derived Extracellular Matrix for Reconstruction of Full Thickness Skin Wounds in Rats Poonam Shakya, 1 A. K. Sharma, 1 Naveen Kumar, 1 Remya Vellachi, 1 Dayamon D. Mathew, 1 Prasoon Dubey, 1 Kiranjeet Singh, 1 Sonal Shrivastava, 2 Sameer Shrivastava, 2 S. K. Maiti, 1 Anwarul Hasan, 1 and K. P. Singh 3 1 Division of Surgery, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh 243 122, India 2 Division of Veterinary Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh 243 122, India 3 Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh 243 122, India Correspondence should be addressed to Naveen Kumar; naveen.ivri1961@gmail.com Received 3 December 2015; Revised 6 February 2016; Accepted 28 February 2016 Academic Editor: Sotirios Korossis Copyright © 2016 Poonam Shakya et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. An acellular cholecyst derived extracellular matrix (b-CEM) of bubaline origin was prepared using anionic biological detergent. Healing potential of b-CEM was compared with commercially available collagen sheet (b-CS) and open wound (C) in full thickness skin wounds in rats. Tirty-six clinically healthy adult Sprague Dawley rats of either sex were randomly divided into three equal groups. Under general anesthesia, a full thickness skin wound (20 × 20 mm 2 ) was created on the dorsum of each rat. Te defect in group I was kept as open wound and was taken as control. In group II, the defect was repaired with commercially available collagen sheet (b-CS). In group III, the defect was repaired with cholecyst derived extracellular matrix of bovine origin (b-CEM). Planimetry, wound contracture, and immunological and histological observations were carried out to evaluate healing process. Signifcantly ( < 0.05) increased wound contraction was observed in b-CEM (III) as compared to control (I) and b-CS (II) on day 21. Histologically, improved epithelization, neovascularization, fbroplasia, and best arranged collagen fbers were observed in b-CEM (III) as early as on postimplantation day 21. Tese fndings indicate that b-CEM have potential for biomedical applications for full thickness skin wound repair in rats. 1. Introduction Skin protects the body from the external environment by maintaining temperature and homeostasis, as well as by performing immune surveillance and sensory detection [1]. Signifcant skin loss due to injury, genetic disorders, acute trauma, chronic wounds, or surgical procedures leading to damage of dermal or subdermal tissues cannot heal properly and can lead to serious consequences. Most wounds can heal naturally, but full thickness wounds greater than 1 cm in diameter need a skin graf to prevent scar formation, resulting in impaired morbidity and cosmetic deformities [2]. Biological scafolds derived from decellularized tissues are in use as surgical implants and scafolds for regener- ative medicine because extracellular matrix secreted from resident cells of each tissue and organ can provide favorable microenvironment that afects cell migration, proliferation, and diferentiation [3, 4]. Te biomaterials are materials intended to interface with biological systems to evaluate, treat, augment, or replace any tissue, organ, or function of the body [5]. Use of the acellular dermal graf in abdominal wall defects was reported with good success rate in rabbits [6]. Acellular biomaterials can stimulate the local environment to repair tissues without the regulatory and scientifc challenges of cell-based therapies [7]. It is obvious that a scafold mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) with adequate bioactive molecules, capable of supporting the growth of cells participating in regener- ation, is an ideal graf suitable for wound healing appli- cation [8]. Indeed, ECM isolated from certain mammalian organs and tissues have been found to have these essential biocomponents that support cell proliferation, migration, and diferentiation [9]. Tese scafolds are naturally rich in collagen, elastin, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), laminin, and Hindawi Publishing Corporation Scientifica Volume 2016, Article ID 2638371, 13 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2638371