title: The recruitment of bone marrow-derived cells to skin wounds is independent of wound size.
abstract: Wounded skin recruits progenitor cells, which repair the tissue defect. These cells are derived from stem cells in several niches in the skin. In addition, bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) are recruited and contribute to wound repair. We hypothesized that larger wounds recruit more cells from the bone marrow. Wild-type rats were lethally irradiated and transplanted with bone marrow cells from green fluorescent protein (GFP)-transgenic rats. Seven weeks later, 4, 10, and 20 mm wounds were created. The wound tissue was harvested after 14 days. The density of GFP-positive cells in the wounds and the adjacent tissues was determined, as well as in normal skin from the flank. Bone marrow-derived myofibroblasts, activated fibroblasts, and macrophages were also quantified. After correction for cell density, the recruitment of BMDCs (23±11%) was found to be independent of wound size. Similar fractions of GFP-positive cells were also detected in nonwounded adjacent tissue (29±11%), and in normal skin (26±19%). The data indicate that BMDCs are not preferentially recruited to skin wounds. Furthermore, wound size does not seem to affect the recruitment of BMDCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Oral Biology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jochem
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verstappen
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Katsaros
authors.forename: Anne Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kuijpers-Jagtman
authors.forename: Ruurd
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Torensma
authors.forename: Johannes W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Von den Hoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008264:Macrophages; D058628:Myofibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins