Retardation of Preputial Wound Healing in Rats with Hypospadias Induced by Flutamide

The study examined the impact of flutamide-induced hypospadias on preputial wound healing in rats. Fifteen pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were used, with their offspring divided into three groups, including a control group and a group treated with flutamide to induce hypospadias. The rats with hypospadias showed less subcutaneous tissue regeneration on postoperative day 3 compared to controls, but no differences were noted on days 7 or 14. Additionally, there were no differences in epithelial cell regeneration at any time point. The study found significantly lower expression levels of TGF-ß1, α-SMactin, and STAT3 in the hypospadias group, indicating that wound healing is delayed in rats with hypospadias due to the regulation of multiple genes. This suggests that these factors are important in the healing process and could be targets for improving outcomes after hypospadias repair. The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 81771566.