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. 2019 Feb;59(S1):884-892.
doi: 10.1111/trf.14836.

Wound healing and fibrosis: current stem cell therapies

Ruth Ellen Jones  1 , Deshka S Foster  1 , Michael S Hu  1 , Michael T Longaker  1
Affiliations

Wound healing and fibrosis: current stem cell therapies

Ruth Ellen Jones et al. Transfusion. 2019 Feb.

Abstract

Scarring is a result of the wound healing response and causes tissue dysfunction after injury. This process is readily evident in the skin, but also occurs internally across organ systems in the form of fibrosis. Stem cells are crucial to the innate tissue healing response and, as such, present a possible modality to therapeutically promote regenerative healing while minimizing scaring. In this review, the cellular basis of scaring and fibrosis is examined. Current stem cell therapies under exploration for skin wound healing and internal organ fibrosis are discussed. While most therapeutic approaches rely on the direct application of progenitor-type cells to injured tissue to promote healing, novel strategies to manipulate the scarring response are also presented. As our understanding of developmental and stem cell biology continues to increase, therapies to encourage regeneration of healthy functional tissue after damage secondary to injury or disease will continue to expand.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Common sources for therapeutic stem cells. ESCs (blue) are isolated from human blastocysts. iPSCs (green) are obtained from dedifferentiation of adult cells like fibroblasts. The marrow is the home of HSCs (red) and an important source of MSCs (purple). MSCs can also be isolated from various other tissues such as the placenta, umbilical cord, and adipose tissue. Finally, ASCs (orange) are extracted from adult adipose tissue.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
The wound healing response and role of EPFs. Phases of wound healing after injury, including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. EPFs are key mediators of cutaneous scarring after injury. When these cells are inhibited, a more regenerative phenotype results with decreased scarring.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
The spectrum of scarring and regeneration. Tissue repair is carried out on a spectrum from overhealing, as in hypertrophic scars, keloids, and cirrhosis, to regeneration, as in fetal wound healing, amphibian limb regeneration, and mucosal repair.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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