Abstract
<jats:p>Background. Perioperative care and postoperative complications, such as impaired wound healing, infection, flap or graft failure, pathological scarring, remain a significant clinical challenge, negatively affecting patient outcomes and satisfaction. The aim of the study is to evaluate the IL6, CCL2, MAPK1, MAPK8, IL10, MMP9, COL1A1 and COL3A1 genes’ transcriptional activity, functional networks, and major metabolic and immunogenetic pathways involved in the wound healing in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Materials and methods. Ninety-five women participated in the prospective longitudinal cohort study and underwent reconstructive/plastic surgery. Their mean age was 35.48 ± 6.61 years (from 19 to 57). All women underwent a set of clinical, demographic, laboratory and instrumental examinations. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the GCP, Council of European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. Transcriptional activity of IL6, CCL2, MAPK1, MAPK8, IL10, MMP9, COL1A1 and COL3A1 genes in the peripheral blood was validated by pathway-specific PCR array. Functional linkage of the genes and protein-protein interaction were constructed using GeneMANIA software and the STRING Interaction Network program. Results. Two hundred and sixty-seven gene-gene interactions of the IL6, CCL2, MAPK1, MAPK8, IL10, MMP9, COL1A1, COL3A1 genes were established with the 20 most involved genes, which realize their activity mainly through the following functional linkage: co-expression (50.06 %) and co-localization (31.81 %) dominate, significantly less — common protein domains (8.63 %) and predicted (5.30 %) and physical interactions (2.49 %), additional signaling pathways (1.71 %). The central place in the gene-gene interaction network belongs to IL6, which acts as a key mediator of the pro-inflammatory response and connects immune (CCL2, IL10), signaling (MAPK1, MAPK8), and matrix (MMP9, COL1A1, COL3A1) components. IL10 gene shows the strongest expression (almost 3 times) in interaction with MAPK8 gene (М: 2.81 (р = 0.003)), the latter activates inflammation, remodeling, and with excess expression — fibrosis. Conclusions. The IL6, CCL2, MAPK1, MAPK8, IL10, MMP9, COL1A1 and COL3A1 genes’ transcriptional activity influence major metabolic and immunogenetic pathways involved in the wound healing in plastic and reconstructive surgery.</jats:p>