Distinct Fibroblasts in the Papillary and Reticular Dermis: Implications for Wound Healing

Abstract

Human skin wounds heal largely by reparative wound healing rather than regenerative wound healing. Human skin wounds heal with scarring and without pilosebaceous units or other appendages. Dermal fibroblasts come from 2 distinct lineages of cells that have distinct cell markers and, more importantly, distinct functional abilities. Human skin wound healing largely involves the dermal fibroblast lineage from the reticular dermis and not the papillary dermis. If scientists could find a way to stimulate the dermal fibroblast lineages from the papillary dermis in early wound healing, perhaps human skin wounds could heal without scarring and with skin appendages.

Keywords: Fibroblasts; Markers for fibroblast lineages; Papillary dermis; Regenerative wound healing; Reparative wound healing; Reticular dermis; Scarring.