Adipose-derived stem cells improve tissue quality in a murine model of delayed wound healing

Wound repair and regeneration is a multidisciplinary field of research with considerable potential value to the management of deep and large cutaneous injuries such as ulcers caused by pressure, venous and arterial insufficiency, and diabetes. These injuries lack an appropriate tissue scaffold and pro-healing cells making them difficult to heal. An ideal therapy is one that would restore both the essential matrix and cellular components that are lacking in these wounds to expedite healing. In this study, we used a novel liquid dermal scaffold capable of gelation in vivo to show that it is biocompatible with adipose derived cells. Using a validated method of wound splinting in an impaired-healing murine model we showed that wounds treated with adipose derived stem cells and the liquid scaffold had improved epithelialization, angiogenesis, and collagen content. The addition of adipose derived cells showed significantly increased expressions of essential growth factors: vascular endothelial factor (VEGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in vivo and that these cells are detectable in the neodermis after wound closure. This liquid dermal scaffold with cells can be considered as a feasible future strategy for the management of complex or deep wounds that are otherwise lacking the appropriate cellular matrix necessary for healing.Medicine, Faculty ofExperimental Medicine, Division ofMedicine, Department ofGraduat