A wound contraction experimental model for studying keloids and wound-healing modulators.
Preventing and treating hypertrophic and keloid scars is difficult because of the lack of knowledge about their genesis. Tissue repair can be studied with biocompatible matrices and ex vivo cultures of different cell types. We used an experimental model where collagen gels populated by human fibroblasts underwent progressive contraction, allowing the study of wound healing remodeling. The fibroblast-populated lattices showed the greater contraction of the gel populated by fibroblasts from keloids versus fibroblasts from normal skin. Moreover, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) involved in scar formation were added to the collagen gels populated by normal skin fibroblasts. TGF-beta caused an increase in gel contraction; FGF did not. The mean percentages of contraction of the gels populated by keloid fibroblasts were very similar to the percentages of gels populated by normal skin fibroblasts with added TGF-beta. These observations confirm the existing hypothesis that TGF-beta may be involved in keloid formation.
Kamamoto
Fábio
F
Laboratório de Cirurgia Plástica, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. fkamamoto@yahoo.com
Paggiaro
Andre Oliveira
AO
Rodas
Andrea
A
Herson
Marisa Roma
MR
Mathor
Monica Beatriz
MB
Ferreira
Marcus Castro
MC
D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000502:physiology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007627:Keloid; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008954:Models, Biological; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D003094:Collagen