A Continuum Model for the Role of Fibroblast Contact Guidance in Wound Contraction

Abstract

Wound repair is a basic and vital process for homeostasis. It is also complex: in full-thickness cutaneous wounds, where loss of dermis has occurred, there are characteristic phases of immediate inflammation, short-term granulation tissue formation (angiogenesis, the ingrowth of blood vessels, and fibroplasia, the infiltration of fibroblastic cells), and long-term wound matrix remodeling. Wound contraction, wherein the wound edge and surrounding skin move inward toward the wound center, occurs during fibroplasia. Fibroblastic cells secrete collagen and other extracellular matrix (ECM) components needed to transform the weak fibrin clot into a collagenous scar with mechanical strength. They are also responsible for the forces underlying wound contraction. The reader is referred to the books edited by Clark & Henson (1988) and Cohen et al. (1992) for an overview of the biology of wound repair.KeywordsWound RepairWound ContractionCell TractionFiber AlignmentWound CenterThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.