Abstract
BackgroundFull-thickness wounds severely affect patients’ life quality and become challenging problems for clinicians. Stem cells have great prospects in the treatment of wounds. Our previous study confirmed that autologous basal cell suspension could promote wound healing, and epidermal stem cells (ESCs) were detected in the basal cell suspension. Herein, this study aimed to explore the effect of ESCs on full-thickness wounds.MethodsRat ESCs were isolated and expanded and then were transfected with lentivirus to stably express enhanced green fluorescent protein. The experimental rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: in the ESC group, the rat ESCs were sprayed on the full-thickness wounds of rats; in the control group, phosphate-buffered saline was sprayed the on the wounds. Next, wound healing and neovascularization were evaluated. Colonization, division, and differentiation of ESCs on the wound were analyzed by immunofluorescence.ResultsThe rat ESCs colonized, divided, and proliferated in the wound. Additionally, rat ESCs around blood vessels differentiated into vascular endothelial cells and formed a lumen-like structure. Compared with the control group, the ESC group showed enhanced angiogenesis and accelerated wound healing.ConclusionsOur study confirmed that rat ESCs are safe and effective for treating full-thickness wounds. Additionally, under certain conditions, ESCs can differentiate into vascular endothelial cells to promote angiogenesis and wound healing.
Highlights
Full-thickness wounds severely affect patients’ life quality and become challenging problems for clinicians
The basal cells were scraped off using a sterile scalpel, rinsed, and collected into keratinocyte serum-free medium (K-SFM; 17005042; Gibco), and the cell suspension was filtered in a 50-ml centrifuge tube using a 200-mesh filter
Morphology and identification of rat epidermal stem cells (ESCs) Our previous study found that FN-precoated culture dishes promote the adhesion and proliferation of ESCs [14]
Summary
Full-thickness wounds severely affect patients’ life quality and become challenging problems for clinicians. Stem cells have great prospects in the treatment of wounds. Our previous study confirmed that autologous basal cell suspension could promote wound healing, and epidermal stem cells (ESCs) were detected in the basal cell suspension. This study aimed to explore the effect of ESCs on full-thickness wounds. How to increase the effectiveness of wound healing and regain skin function are the problems faced by burn and plastic surgeons. Effective wound repair requires the formation of many new blood vessels in the granulation tissue to maintain the nutrition of the wound bed and promote the deposition of extracellular matrix. Neovascularization in the wound tissue plays a very important role in forming granulation tissue, improving the microcirculation of the wound, reducing the incidence of infection, and promoting the healing of chronic refractory wounds or deep burn wounds. Impaired neovascularization will directly lead to delayed wound healing or poor wound healing [7,8,9,10]
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