title: Detection of fibrocytes in human skin wounds and its application for wound age determination.
abstract: Fibrocytes, a newly identified cell type, are bone marrow-derived mesenchymal progenitors that coexpress hematopoietic cell antigens and fibroblast products. In this study, a double-color immunofluorescence analysis was carried out using anti-CD45 and anti-collagen type I antibodies to examine the time-dependent appearance of fibrocytes, using 53 human skin wounds with different wound ages (group I, 0-3 days; group II, 4-7 days; group III, 9-14 days; and group IV, 17-21 days). In wound specimens with an age of less than 3 days, CD45+/collagen type I+ fibrocytes were not detected. The fibrocytes were initially observed in wounds aged 4 days, and their number increased in lesions with advances in wound age. In a semiquantitative morphometrical analysis, the average number of fibrocytes was highest in the wounds of group III. These findings imply that human skin wounds containing fibrocytes are at least 4 days old. Moreover, a fibrocyte number of over 10 indicates a wound age between 9 and 14 days (i.e., group III). Based on the average number of fibrocytes in each group, a fibrocyte number of over 15 more strongly suggests a wound age of 9-14 days. Together, our observations indicate the participation of fibrocytes in wound healing of human skin inducing the accumulation of extracellular matrix components, and therefore, detection of fibrocytes could be a useful marker for wound age determination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, 641-8509 Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Tatsunori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takayasu
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eisenmenger
authors.forename: Toshikazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D024042:Collagen Type I; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens