Improved healing of the deeply incisional wounds in partially scaled common carp by zinc sulphate bath

This study aimed to investigate the role of zinc immersion bath in promoting wound‐healing process in partially scaled common carp using different concentrations of zinc sulphate (ZnSO₄). After wound induction, three different doses of ZnSO₄ were used (1/20, 1/10 and 1/5 of the calculated LC50) for 10 days. After the end of the experimental period, tissue samples were collected from the area surrounding the wound for analysing the expression of the following genes: collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1α1), transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐A, metallothionein (Met) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)‐7. Moreover, the tissue antioxidant markers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were also assessed. The extent of the healing process was also assessed by histopathological examination. The results revealed that the use of ZnSO₄ at 1/10 of the LC50 caused a significant improvement in tissue reepithelization, angiogenesis and tissue remodelling through overexpression of Col1α1, TGF‐β1, VEGF‐A and FGF‐7. Moreover, a significant improvement in antioxidant markers was also observed with ZnSO₄ immersion. In conclusion, this study showed that ZnSO₄ immersion at 1/10 of the calculated LC50 improved the healing of the incisional wound in partially scaled common carp via upregulation of the examined growth factor genes and improvement of the antioxidant status of fish.