Abstract:

Objective    To study effects of ZnCl2 and Zn-EDTA on formation of the epidermis granular layer in the mouse tail.  Methods    The models of tail scale epidermis were established by using healthy male Kunming mice. The mice were randomly divided into the  negative and positive control groups, low, middle and high dosage ZnCl2 groups, or and low, middle and high dosage Zn-EDTA groups. According to the protocol, normal saline, methotrexate, ZnCl2 or Zn-EDTA were intragastrically given to each group for 12 consecutive days. 1d after the last administration, mice were sacrificed and pathological sections of the tail scale epidermis were made to count the number of scales with the granular layer in 100 scales under a light microscope. Results     Different doses of ZnCl2 and ZnEDTA all significantly promoted the formation of the granular layer in the mouse tail scale epidermis (P<0.05), while no significant difference was found compared with the methotrexate group, which acted as the positive control（P>0.05）. Conclusion    ZnCl2 and Zn-EDTA promote skin keratinization of the mouse tail scale.

Key words: ZnCl2;  Zn-EDTA; Skin keratinization; Psoriasis; Mouse