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Wound Healing - Recent Advances and Future Opportunities
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macrophages is negatively affected by the stabilising impact of steroids on lysosomes. Epithelialisation, which is a critical step in wound healing is inhibited by glucocorti­coids such as hydrocorticosterone [57].
Things are further complicated by the low-secretory state induced by corticoste­roids due to their effect on the endoplasmic reticulum. Thus, risk of wound dehis­cence is consequently enhanced due to the reduced deposition of collagen [58].
. Genetic syndromes associated with abnormal wound healing
5.4.1 Cutis laxa
Defective elastin fibres as evidenced in cutis laxa- an acquired or congenital disorder, impacts wound healing. Characterised by skin that is loose (lax), wrinkled, sagging, and lacking elasticity (inelastic). The inelastic skin returns to place abnor­mally slowly when stretched. The skin around the face, arms and legs etc. are the predominantly affected parts and give patients a prematurely-aged appearance [59].
5.4.2 Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Characterised by deficit in collagen metabolism, it is a group of connective tissue abnormalities that lead to defects in the inherent strength, elasticity, integrity, and healing properties of the tissues [60, 61]. Even mild injury in Ehlers-Danlos patients may lead to severe bruising and the development of wide, ‘open’ wounds due to the delayed healing [27, 60, 61].
5.4.3 Osteogenesis imperfecta
An inheritable disorder of connective tissue, clinical features of this condition include bone fragility, neonatal dwarfism, deformities of the long bones, scoliosis, ligamentous laxity, blue sclerae, defective dentinogenesis, and deafness. While there are four major forms, mutations in the genes that encode type I collagen is a common trait that result in the formation of wide scars [27, 62].
. Adjuncts to wound healing
. Bioengineered skin
One of the best examples of Bioengineered skin is the Apligraf: a bi-layered bioengineered skin substitute composed of ‘bovine type I collagen matrix populated with human male neonatal fibroblasts and an epidermal sheet derived from male neonatal epidermal keratinocytes’, that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cases where standard wound care has failed to treat ulcers. The mechanism that initiates wound healing by the use of these bioengineered products is still being researched but it has been revealed that these cells grow and proliferate, and produce growth factors, collagens, and extracellular matrix proteins, all of which are known to positively stimulate re-epithelialisation, formation of granulation tissue, angiogenesis, and neutrophil and monocyte chemotaxis. Thus, these have the potential to provide a potent cellular remedy and adaptable response in acute and chronic wounds [63].
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. Electrostimulation
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While the first exploration of electrical current in skin was described as early as
1860 by DuBois-Reymond; the fact that wounds treated with electrostimulation had a positive potential compared with the surrounding skin was only confirmed in 1945 [64]. It is believed that electro-stimulations aides in wound healing by accelerate the wound-healing process by tissue increasing the migration of vital cells to the site of injury i.e., neutrophils, macrophages [64–66] and fibroblasts [67–69] by imitating the natural electrical current that occurs in skin when it is injured and thereby accelerates the healing process [70–72].
. Hydrotherapy
One of the oldest adjunct treatment modalities that is still practiced today is
the Whirlpool therapy that accelerates wound healing by wound debridation, warming the wounded tissue, and providing buoyancy and gentle limb resistance for physical therapy [73]. However, despite their prevalence, Whirlpool treat­ments have been subject to disapprobation in recent years because of the enhanced risk ofnosocomial contamination and transmission of virulent infections associ­ated with them [74–78]. These days, modified forms of the whirlpool therapy, suchasthe pulsed lavage and the VersaJet are more popular as they provide the benefits of hydrotherapy without the associated collateral trauma of traditional methods [78, 79].
. Hyperbaric oxygen
Although hyperbaric oxygen treatment for narcotising soft-tissue infections has
not always been successful, the treatment has been found to be beneficial for a variety of conditions including amputations, [80] osteoradionecrosis, [81, 82] surgical flaps, and skin grafts [81, 83, 84]. However, studies have failed to statistically corroborate significant outcomes regarding differences with respect to mortality rates and length of hospitalisation [82, 85–88]. Benefits are suspected to primarily originate from the benefits of the increased nitric oxide levels that are developed by increasing oxygen pressure as nitric oxide is known to be vital for wound-healing [88].
Fascinatingly, in a study using an ischemic rabbit ear model, hyperbaric
oxygen therapy was used in combination with PDGF or TGF-β1 and was found to have a synergistic effect that completely reversed the healing issues caused by ischemia [89].
. Scars
A scar refers to a growth of tissue marking the spot where skin has healed after
an injury. And while scars are used for body modification and ‘body art’ in some cultures, most take it to be a sign of someone surviving a catastrophic event or a debilitating disease [2, 3]. They are predominantly of two types:
Keloid scar:
lagen bundles in their midst and being limited in macrophage content but abundant in eosinophils, mast cells, plasma cells and lymphocytes [90–92].

these are scars that have overgrown their boundaries with large col-
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Hypertrophic scar: Hypertrophic scars do not have collagen bundles, but nodules of α-smooth muscle actin–staining myofibroblasts that contain cells and collagen [93].
. Treatment
While multiple treatments are promoted/suggested to minimise the development of scars, none have been proven to be completely effective. Keloid scars especially are difficult to treat because of their high recurrence rate.
Common scar-treatment modalities include:
Excision: While one of the more popular treatments, excision alone (especially in the case of keloid scars) has been proven to have a high recurrence rate ranging from 45 to 93 percent.
However, when coupled with other treatment practices, excision has been known to lower recurrence risk [90–92].
Laser excision: Lasers cause a range of specific thermal tissue reactions in a dry and bloodless environment and was initially utilised in the hopes of reducing scar formation, however they are not frequently used in the present date owing to their high recurrence levels [94, 95].
Radiation Therapy: Radiations have been used in the eradication of this benign lesion since the 1960s; however current concerns regarding the safety of patients ­due to increased risks of developing skin cancer; have limited the perpetuity of this therapeutic modality [94].
Steroids: While steroids themselves are known to interfere with wound healing, they are used in initial treatment of scars as they suppress the inflammatory stage [95, 96].
Cryo-surgery: Traditionally, cryotherapy have been used for managing hypertro­phic scars and keloids, with pre-treatment and post-treatment histological analyses indicating significant improvement in scar organisation after needle cryosurgery [93].
Interferon: IFN-α-2b normalises the collagen and glycosaminoglycan of the keloid, thereby interfering with the fibroblasts collagen synthesis [97]. Complications with IFN-α-2b include flu-like symptoms, headache, fever, and myalgias.
However, till date; prevention is the best keloid therapy.
. Problems with current strategies to reduce scarring
Current strategies for non-surgical therapy for the treatment of keloids and hyper­trophic scars include topical therapy and intra-lesional injections of corticosteroids. While literature has reported a success rate ranging between 50 to 100 percent; these methods have also been associated with hypopigmentation, dermal atrophy, telangi­ectasia, widening of the scar, and delayed wound healing [98].
. Prospects being explored to promote scarless-wound healing
8.1.1 Dermal stem cells
While advances in genetic lineage-tracing technologies, cellular assays, and imaging techniques have revealed important stem and progenitor cell reservoirs in the inter- follicular epidermis, the eccrine sweat glands, and the hair follicle; given exci­sional wounds develop into areas lacking sweat and sebaceous glands as well as hair
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follicles, further understanding of stem and progenitor cells would aide in achieving
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the ultimate goal of scarless wound healing following injury [99].
8.1.2 Interfollicular epidermis
During wound healing of the interfollicular epidermis, a population of ‘slow-
cycling cells’ is suspected to demonstrate autocrine regulation [100, 101] until mobil­ised by a wound healing signal. The cell division frequency of these slow-cycling cells increases following a wound, which provides excess daughter cells that help in repairing the damage. Further, injured epithelium has been known to demonstrate behavioural plasticity with progenitors capable of reverting to multipotent states and multipotent cells differentiating to fill unipotent roles, [102, 103]. Exploring these avenues may eventually allow us to discover the hitherto undiscovered processes that would allow regenerative wound healing with negligible scarring.
8.1.3 Sweat glands
Loss of sweat glands in burn patients remains an unsolved problem. However,
recent studies of these epidermal appendages have identified gland-specific progeni­tors, [104] and indicated the role of these cells in development, homeostasis, and wound repair [104–107].
8.1.4 Hair follicles
Mammalian hair follicles are known to house numerous progenitor cell popula
­tions that might play indispensable role in the repair of injured dermal tissue and exploring them might give us ground breaking insight towards achieving scarless wound healing [106, 108, 109].
. Future prospects for scarless wound healing
8.2.1 Gene targets
Genes involved in the scarring response that influence fibrosis by regulating
collagen production and degradation have been identified. If they can be safely down-regulated by emerging medical techniques, they may provide the answer to the mechanisms involved in the minimisation of scars [110].
8.2.2 Dermal substitutes
Wound coverage as well as a matrix to encourage engraftment and proliferation of
endogenous cells and the function of transplanted cells is provided by dermal substi­tutes. These are typically acellular in nature, but biocompatible and morphologically similar to natural tissue structure with mechanical properties similar to host dermal tissue [111].
8.2.3 Mechanical offloading
Another alternative to limiting fibrosis in cutaneous injuries is mechanical offload-
ing since mechanical tension plays a significant role in the development of fibrosis,
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activating numerous mechano-responsive signalling pathways such as the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) [112, 113].
. Cellular targets for scarless wound healing
Identification of populations of cells contributing to scar formation allows us to explore options that reduce these specific cell populations during wound healing, thereby minimising scarification.
For instance, Dulauroy and team (2012) successfully distinguished a pro- inflam­matory subset of perivascular cells that are activated upon acute injury in muscle and dermis by transient expression of a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM12) [114]. Knocking down ADAM12 expression or ablating these cells was shown to decrease fibrosis and resulting scar formation.
This has been concordant with the findings of Rinkevich et al. [115] who found that fibroblasts originating from En1-lineages were the main culprits in the cutaneous scarring. These cells majorly contribute to scar formation in connective tissue.
Selective abrogation of the En1-fibroblast lineage with diprotin A by accompany­ing CD26 (also known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4, DPP4) surface marker has also been found to reduce cutaneous scarring without compromising the integrity of the healed tissue [115].
The ability of DPP4 inhibitors to curb the fibrogenic phenotypes of keloid-derived fibroblasts and normal fibroblasts have been further verified through various in vivo experiments. Observed decrease in collagen production and TGF-β1 expression have also been found to be enabled by underlying mechanisms involving the pro-fibrotic pp38 and pERK1/2 pathways [116].
Further, Myofibroblasts have been identified as the key players in the standard wound healing response, as they contribute to wound contraction and ECM produc­tion [117], making them ideal targets for reducing scar formation [118]. However, during the maturation phase of normal wound healing, the majority of these cells undergo apoptosis [119]. Thus, reversal of the myofibroblast phenotype might also help in decreasing this cell population [120, 121].
Unfortunately, like fibroblasts, myofibroblasts (or myofibroblast-like cells) also form a functionally heterogeneous population with potential precursors including fibroblasts, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and fibrocytes [122]. Although it is still being determined whether fibroblasts and adipocytes share a common progenitor, Schmidt and Horsley [123] have demon­strated that dermal adipocytes are essential for fibroblast recruitment during wound healing mechanisms. Experimental interventions with direct and indirect targeting at both populations have been demonstrated to be responsible for scar formation.
Interestingly, Desai and his team [120] have found indications that the myofi­broblast differentiation process is not terminal with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) functioning as a phenotypic reversing agent as it led to diminishing expres­sion of α-Smooth Muscle Actin (SMA), collagen I, and fibronectin, and a loss of focal adhesions and stress fibres being inversely co-related with tenascin-C and vimentin upregulation, in agreement with a more fibroblast-like phenotype [120]. These find­ings are in tune Rinella et al. [124] work that indicate that extracorporeal shockwaves (ESW), which cause myofibroblast precursors to differentiate into more fibroblast­like cells with lower contractility and higher migration potential, simultaneously reducing α-SMA and type I collagen expression may play a significant role in scar reduction.
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. Stem cells
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Stem cells are known to modulate the wound environment and improve healing by
reducing inflammation [125–127]. A recent study by Li et al. [128] has demonstrated the potential benefits of conditioned media from umbilical cord (UC)-MSC cultures wherein, dermal fibroblasts under the paracrine influence exhibit characteristics similar to those of foetal fibroblasts: low myofibroblast forming capacity, decreased TGF-β1/TGF-β3 ratio, as well as increased expression of enzymes (matrix metal­loproteinases or MMPs) involved in ECM remodelling [128]. Other in vitro studies have indicated that human amniotic-fluid-derived MSC-conditioned media also has the potential to inhibit the pro-fibrotic actions of TGF-β1 and even reverse the myofibroblast phenotype to a fibroblast-like state. Conditioned media from ASCs produced similar results, but to a lesser extent [129]. However, this enhanced healing mechanism may not always translate to reduced scar-formation as these experiments do not have similar results when performed in vivo [130, 131]. Additionally, ethical, legal as well as practical barriers associated with stem-cell- based therapies might restrict their use in the exploration of scarless wound healing [132].
. Wnt and regeneration
Various signalling pathways, such as the canonical Wnt/
β-catenin have been impli­cated in the expression of foetal mouse keratinocytes and fibroblasts at embryonic day (E)16 and E18 time points, straddling the transition from scarless to scar-forming repair [117, 133]. While Wnt signalling is a key component of embryological develop­ment, it is also involved in various wound healing mechanisms with the canonical Wnt pathway being the most relevant [134]. In this pathway, the Wnt-ligand binding at the cell surface leads to cytoplasmic β-catenin accumulation, which subsequently translocates to the nucleus to exert its effects as a transcriptional co-activator [135].
Additionally, a link between TGF-β
and the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway has been observed in the case of fibrosis with analysis of pathological scars (hypertrophic scars and keloids) revealing upregulated Wnt signalling secondary to TGF-β [136]. β-catenin levels have been shown to double during the proliferative phase in normal wound healing (with scarring) as well [137]. Keloids in humans also display Wnt-3a over-expression by inducing fibroblasts of endothelial origin to transition to mesen­chymal cells that leads to collagen accumulation [138].
. MicroRNA
MicroRNA (miRNA) gene therapies are a more recent avenue for potential thera-
peutic interventions as these molecules exert an inhibitory role on mRNA transcrip­tion within eukaryotic cells, effectively silencing genes at a post- transcriptional level [139]. Comparison of genome-wide miRNA expression between mid-gestational (E16) and late-gestational (E19) mouse skin discovered global repression of these molecules at the earlier time point where scarless healing is the norm [140]. miR-34 family have been established as potential candidates for scarless wound healing in human foetal keratinocytes, however; expression of these miRNAs was found to be significantly lower as gestation progressed [103].
Regenerative wound healing using miRNAs has been explored to reduce scarifica-
tion [141–143]. For instance, miR-145 has been found at three times its normal levels in hypertrophic scars and pro-fibrotic TGF-β1-induced myofibroblasts. However,
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with the help of a commercial inhibitor of miR-145, Gras et al. (2015) were able to significantly decrease type I collagen expression, TGF-β1 secretion, and contractility in skin myofibroblasts [144].
Similarly, miRNAs have been combined with biomimetic scaffolds to enhance wound healing, and furthering their clinical potential [145]. Future in vivo studies will hopefully enumerate the clinical potential for other miRNA-based therapies.
. Conclusions
Our current understanding of wound healing and cell subpopulations within the skin has allowed us to develop scar-reducing therapies, however, they are not as effective as needed to make them the mainstay of available wound healing modalities. While research regarding this elusive therapeutic modality is underway, success­ful scarless wound healing would require not only an understanding of signalling molecules and growth factors but also a thorough understanding of lineage-specific cellular origin and function during both foetal and adult stages.
Acknowledgements
I would sincerely like to thank Priya Ashrit and Dr. Shweta Sharma for their assis­tance and encouragement during the preparation of this chapter. I also acknowledge the kind aid of Mr. Subhasis Bhattacharjee in the design of the images that have been used in this chapter.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.
List of abbreviations/acronyms
ADAM a disintegrin and metalloprotease ASC acellular stem cell (bioengineered cells) ATP adenosine triphosphate ECM extra-cellular matrix ERK extra-cellular related kinase ESW extracorporeal shockwaves FAK focal adhesion kinase FDA Food and Drug Administration (of the USA) HIF hypoxia inducible factor IFN interferon IL interleukin KGF keratinocyte growth factor MCP monocyte chemo-attractant protein MMPs matrix metalloproteinases MSCs mesenchymal stem cells PDGF platelet derived growth factor
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PF platelet factor
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SMA smooth muscle actin TGF transforming growth factor TNF tumour necrosis factor bFGF basic fibroblast growth factor
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