Collagen degradation in normal and pathological scarring: Aetiological implications

Abstract

Introduction: Apoptosis of fibroblasts is a key wound healing event that limits scar tissue production, failure of which may be the basis of scarring pathology. The trigger for this process is unclear but seems to involve contraction of fibrillar collagen. We have previously shown that unlike dermal and normal scar fibroblasts, pathological scar cells fail to undergo collagen-contraction-induced apoptosis.