title: A wound contraction experimental model for studying keloids and wound-healing modulators.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Cirurgia Plástica, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. fkamamoto@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Fábio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kamamoto
authors.forename: Andre Oliveira
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Paggiaro
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodas
authors.forename: Marisa Roma
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Herson
authors.forename: Monica Beatriz
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Mathor
authors.forename: Marcus Castro
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D003094:Collagen