{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T15:20:59Z","timestamp":1778167259418,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778112000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the association between systemic nicotine administration and histological and biochemical repair endpoints in an acetic acid-induced rat oral ulcer model. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six male Wistar rats were assigned to control, oral ulcer + saline, and oral ulcer + nicotine (1 mg\/kg\/day, s.c.) groups. Oral ulcers were induced with 70% acetic acid. After 15 days, buccal mucosa and plasma samples were collected for histopathological and biochemical analyses. Epithelial thickness and fibrosis were assessed histologically, while malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-\u03b1 (TNF-\u03b1), vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were quantified. Results: Relative to controls, ulcer induction was associated with reduced epithelial thickness and increased fibrosis, MDA, and TNF-\u03b1 levels. Compared with the oral ulcer + saline group, the nicotine-treated group showed greater epithelial thickness, lower fibrosis, lower MDA and TNF-\u03b1 levels, and higher VEGF-A and EGFR levels at the study endpoint. No significant difference in VEGF-A was observed between the control and oral ulcer + saline groups. Conclusions: In this acetic acid-induced rat model, systemic nicotine administration was associated with improved endpoint histological and biochemical indices of oral ulcer repair. Because macroscopic wound closure, dose\u2013response relationships, route comparisons, and direct mechanistic experiments were not included, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary preclinical associations rather than evidence of a direct causal effect of nicotine on wound healing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62050900","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T14:05:46Z","timestamp":1778162746000},"page":"900","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Nicotine Is Associated with Improved Histological and Biochemical Indices of Oral Ulcer Repair in an Acetic Acid-Induced Rat Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-9297-4968","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u0130rem","family":"Hengirmen Acu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Faculty of Medicine, Ufuk University, 06510 Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Oytun","family":"Erba\u015f","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, BAMER, Biruni University, 34015 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.2165\/00003495-199039010-00005","article-title":"Pharmacological management of recurrent oral mucosal ulceration","volume":"39","author":"Burgess","year":"1990","journal-title":"Drugs"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116594","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lfs.2019.116594","article-title":"Sleep deprivation worsened oral ulcers and delayed the healing process in an experimental rat model","volume":"232","author":"Chen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Life Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"m3351","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.m3351","article-title":"Painful perianal ulcers with nicorandil","volume":"370","author":"McGettigan","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"949","DOI":"10.1046\/j.1365-2036.2003.01782.x","article-title":"Oral ulceration\u2013aetiopathogenesis, clinical diagnosis and management in the gastrointestinal clinic","volume":"18","author":"Field","year":"2003","journal-title":"Aliment. 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