Fibroblasts and wound healing: an update

• Published in: Regenerative medicine 2018-07, Vol.13 (5), p.491-495
• Main Authors: des Jardins-Park, Heather E, Foster, Deshka S, Longaker, Michael T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Biomedical materials; Clinical medicine; Extracellular matrix; fibroblast; Fibroblasts; Fibroblasts - metabolism; Fibroblasts - pathology; Growth factors; Humans; injury; regeneration; scar; Scars; stem cell; therapy; Ulcers; Wound Healing
• ISSN: 1746-0751; 1746-076X
• DOI: 10.2217/rme-2018-0073

While any dermal wound in an adult human, even if treated, will result in scarring (1), the ‘holy grail’ of wound healing is ‘scarless wound healing’: wound repair via the regeneration of functional, native tissue. Fibroblasts are critical in all three phases,playing a key role in the deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, wound contraction and remodeling of new ECM. Since our previous review (3), recent work continues to show the striking heterogeneity of skin fibroblasts. Fibroblast heterogeneity across pathological wound healing states Human wound healing may be viewed as a spectrum, with typical scar formation representing the ‘normal’ phenotype;chronic wounds at one extreme and hyperproliferative scarring and even keloids at the other. Financial and competing interests disclosure MT Longaker is a co-founder of, has an equity position in, and serves on the board of Neodyne Biosciences, Inc., a startup company which developed a device to reduce mechanical tension on wounds to minimize post-operative scarring.The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.