title: Mesenchymal stem cells delivered in a microsphere-based engineered skin contribute to cutaneous wound healing and sweat gland repair.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) can contribute to wound healing after skin injury. However, the role of BM-MSCs on repairing skin appendages in renewal tissues is incompletely explored. Moreover, most preclinical studies suggest that the therapeutic effects afforded by BM-MSCs transplantation are short-lived and relatively unstable.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether engrafted bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells via a delivery system can participate in cutaneous wound healing and sweat-gland repair in mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  For safe and effective delivery of BM-MSCs to wounds, epidermal growth factor (EGF) microspheres were firstly developed to both support cells and maintain appropriate stimuli, then cell-seeded microspheres were incorporated with biomimetic scaffolds and thus fabricated an engineered skin construct with epithelial differentiation and proliferative potential. The applied efficacy was examined by implanting them into excisional wounds on both back and paws of hind legs in mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 3 weeks, BM-MSC-engineered skin (EGF loaded) treated wounds exhibited accelerated healing with increased re-epithelialization rates and less skin contraction. Furthermore, histological and immunofluorescence staining analysis revealed sweat glands-like structures became more apparent in BM-MSC-engineered skin (EGF loaded) treated wounds but the number of implanted BM-MSCs were decreased gradually in later phases of healing progression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that BM-MSCs delivered by this EGF microspheres-based engineered skin model may be a promising strategy to repair sweat glands and improve cutaneous wound healing after injury and success in this study might provide a potential benefit for BM-MSCs administration clinically.
authors.affiliation: Wound Healing and Cell Biology Laboratory, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, General Hospital of PLA, 51 Fu Cheng Road, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Enhe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jirigala
authors.forename: Yongan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008863:Microspheres; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries*; D013545:Sweat Glands / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor