Abstract
Wound healing is characterized by cell and extracellular matrix changes mediating cell migration, fibrosis, remodeling and regeneration. We previously demonstrated that chick fetal wound healing shows a regenerative phenotype regarding the cellular and molecular organization of the cornea. However, the chick corneal stromal structure is remarkably complex in the collagen fiber/lamellar organization, involving branching and anastomosing of collagen bundles. It is unknown whether the chick fetal wound healing is capable of recapitulating this developmentally regulated organization pattern. The purpose of this study was to examine the three-dimensional collagen architecture of wounded embryonic corneas, whilst identifying temporal and spatial changes in collagen organization during wound healing. Linear corneal wounds that traversed the epithelial layer, Bowman´s layer, and anterior stroma were generated in chick corneas on embryonic day 7. Irregular thin collagen fibers are present in the wounded cornea during the early phases of wound healing. As wound healing progresses, the collagen organization dramatically changes, acquiring an orthogonal arrangement. Fourier transform analysis affirmed this observation and revealed that adjacent collagen lamellae display an angular displacement progressing from the epithelium layer towards the endothelium. These data indicate that the collagen organization of the wounded embryonic cornea recapitulate the native macrostructure.
Highlights
Fibrosis results in accumulation of toxins as the organ’s ability to regenerate itself and function is impaired[9]
Other studies posit that the differences between scar-free healing in fetal wounds and scar-forming healing in adult wounds is related to the ECM composition and to the cell–matrix interactions[26,27,28]
The embryonic chick cornea has been widely used to study the basis for the development of a highly organized matrix, essential for optical transparency and tissue biomechanical properties, little attention has been paid to its usage as a model for corneal regeneration[50,51,52]
Summary
Fibrosis results in accumulation of toxins as the organ’s ability to regenerate itself and function is impaired[9]. Fetal wounds have the intrinsic ability to heal with a regeneration of normal tissue structure without scarring[14,15]. This scarless wound healing phenotype occurs across species but is age dependent[16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23]. Considering collagen remodeling and organization is fundamental in scarless wound healing, we asked if collagen architecture in regenerating embryonic chick corneas exhibit the normal collagen structure and morphology found in undamaged developing corneas
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