Mesenchymal stem cells promote incision wound repair in a mouse model

Dong-Jie Li,Tian-Jun Sun,Lin Zhang,Jia-Ke Chai,Chuan-An Shen,Hu-Ping Deng

doi:10.4314/tjpr.v16i6.15

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the wound healing process via the application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a mouse model.Methods: MSCs were collected from the bone marrow of the femur and tibia of 6 – 12-week-old C57BL/6 mice. Full-thickness cutaneous wounds (4 × 2 cm) were made by incision on the dorsal side of the mice. The wound was then subjected to one of four random treatments: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution, 3T3 fibroblasts, naive MSCs, or interferon gamma-activated MSCs. Chalkley method was used to determine vascular density. A score was given, for each field examined, for CD31-positive areas, and the results of blind analysis were confirmed by independent analysis of a second evaluator.Results: The tensile strength of the wound area was significantly lower in older versus younger mice (p ≤ 0.0007). Only one quarter of the mean force was required to disrupt wound integrity in older mice compared to young mice. Treatment with MSCs showed positive effects on wound healing. Activated MSCs showed the greatest efficacy at a dosage of 5 × 104 activated MSCs/8 cm2 of wound area or 6, 250 cells/cm2.Conclusion: The results suggest that MSC therapies enhance the tissue regeneration capacity in mice, especially in older populations, through effective transdifferentiation into the epithelium.Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cell, wound healing, mouse

Highlights

IntroductionEspecially skin defects, remains a major health issue all over the world
Tissue damage, especially skin defects, remains a major health issue all over the world
The main growth factors involved in the process of wound healing include the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, epidermal growth factor (EGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) [6]

Summary

Introduction

Especially skin defects, remains a major health issue all over the world. This is mainly due to microbial infections, congenital diseases, poor conditioning, or damage sustained over a very large area. Numerous strategies have been employed to treat skin defects, such as the use of synthetic membranes, porcine xenografts, allografts, and permanent skin substitutes. These approaches have met with limited success. Wound healing has three phases: inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling [1] These stages require fibrin clot formation, cell migration, extracellular matrix deposition, dermal reconstitution, and re-epithelialization [2,3,4,5]. Studies on the positive effects of exogenous growth factors on wound healing have failed to confirm their efficacy in clinical trials

Results

Discussion

Conclusion