Animal studies demonstrate that the fetus heals cutaneous wounds by reformation of normal tissue architecture without scar formation. We have developed a new model to study human fetal skin wound healing. Grafts of human fetal skin placed onto athymic mice retain the morphologic features of normal development, although they differentiate at an accelerated rate when placed cutaneously compared t...

For treatment of skin burn injuries, there exist several methods of treatment related to tissue regeneration, including the use of autograft skin and cryopreserved skin. However, each method has drawbacks. An alternative method for tissue regeneration is allograft acellular dermal matrix, with potential as a biocompatible scaffold for new tissue growth. One recently produced material of this ty...

BACKGROUND Peripheral nerve repair is often complicated by fibroblastic scar formation, nerve dysfunction, and traumatic neuroma formation. Use of silicone may improve outcomes of these repairs. In this study, we tried to evaluate effectiveness of silicone gel on rats' sciatic nerve repair, axon regeneration and scar formation around and in the nervous tissues. METHODS This experimental study...

Excessive contraction of hypertrophic scar and subsequent contracture formation are a formidable problem after thermal injury. A comparison between fibroblasts from hypertrophic scar and normal skin was made with the use of fibroblast-populated collagen lattices as a measure of cellular generated contractile forces. Hypertrophic scar and normal skin fibroblasts were mixed with soluble tendon co...

Damage to the skin initiates a cascade of well-orchestrated events that ultimately leads to repair of the wound. The inflammatory response is key to wound healing both through preventing infection and stimulating proliferation and remodeling of the skin. Mast cells within the tissue are one of the first immune cells to respond to trauma, and upon activation they release pro-inflammatory molecul...

In the adult, tissue repair after injury is generally compromised by fibrosis, which maintains tissue integrity with scar formation but does not restore normal architecture and function. The process of regeneration is necessary to replace the scar and rebuild normal functioning tissue. Here, we address this problem in the context of heart disease, and discuss the origins and characteristics of ...