On the one hand, recurrence rates and postoperative complications following
hernia repair are supposed to be influenced by the kind of mesh material used. On the other hand, an impaired
collagen metabolism and cleavage within connective tissue has been suggested as decisive factor in the pathogenesis of recurrent
hernia formation. The aim of our study was, therefore, to analyze the impact of commonly used mesh materials on quality of
collagen deposition, expression of
collagenases (
matrix metalloproteinases;
MMP-1/
MMP-13), and specific tissue inhibitors of
MMPs (TIMPs) in an animal study. Four different mesh materials were used (
Prolene =
polypropylene,
Mersilene =
polyester, and Vypro and
Vypro II = combinations of
polypropylene and
polyglactin) and implanted as abdominal wall replacement in 60 male Wistar rats. Mesh samples were explanted after 3, 21, and 90 days and investigated using immunohistochemistry (expression of
MMP-1/
MMP-13 and TIMP-1) and cross-polarization microscopy (percentage of
collagen type III to overall
collagen). Besides an insufficient
collagen composition with an increased percentage of
collagen type III, we found a complex expression of
collagenases and their inhibitors combined with a persistent chronic
foreign-body reaction even 90 days after implantation. Except for
TIMP-1 expression, which was significantly related to a lowered amount of inflammatory (r = -0.980, p = 0.02) and connective tissue formation (r = -0.951, p = 0.049), there was no relation to the expression of
collagenases (
MMP-1/
MMP-13) with regard to the amount of inflammatory and connective tissue formation despite partly significant differences between implanted
polymers.