title: Roles of Proteoglycans and Glycosaminoglycans in Wound Healing and Fibrosis.
abstract: A wound is a type of injury that damages living tissues. In this review, we will be referring mainly to healing responses in the organs including skin and the lungs. Fibrosis is a process of dysregulated extracellular matrix (ECM) production that leads to a dense and functionally abnormal connective tissue compartment (dermis). In tissues such as the skin, the repair of the dermis after wounding requires not only the fibroblasts that produce the ECM molecules, but also the overlying epithelial layer (keratinocytes), the endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells of the blood vessel and white blood cells such as neutrophils and macrophages, which together orchestrate the cytokine-mediated signaling and paracrine interactions that are required to regulate the proper extent and timing of the repair process. This review will focus on the importance of extracellular molecules in the microenvironment, primarily the proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan, and their roles in wound healing. First, we will briefly summarize the physiological, cellular, and biochemical elements of wound healing, including the importance of cytokine cross-talk between cell types. Second, we will discuss the role of proteoglycans and hyaluronan in regulating these processes. Finally, approaches that utilize these concepts as potential therapies for fibrosis are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Shibnath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghatak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
authors.forename: Edward V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Maytin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mack
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
authors.forename: Vincent C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Hascall
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology & Immunology, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 114 Doughty Street, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Ilia
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Atanelishvili
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moreno Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Roger R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Markwald
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Suniti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Misra