A novel dermal tissue construct: Development and in vitro characterization

Abstract

A dermal tissue construct composed of human dermal fibroblasts and a chitosan sponge has been developed, targeted towards the treatment of diabetic nonhealing ulcers. The construct has been designed in a way that the dermal fibroblasts are arranged as a three-dimensional sheet adhered entirely on one side of the chitosan sponge. This design would allow maximal diffusion of growth factors from the cells to the wound bed when the construct is applied on the wound with the cellular sheet side making contact with the wound bed. The diffusion of secreted growth factors would take place directly from cells to the wound bed without being impeded by a matrix. The cells are present at a high density in the dermal construct, which would aid in accelerated wound healing. The construct has a porous chitosan sponge base, which would allow gas exchange, and renders the dermal construct very flexible so that it would take the shape of the wound contours well, while having mechanical integrity. The viability of cells in the construct is greater than 90%. The dermal construct produces a high amount of vascular endothelial growth factor, from 42 ng to 31 ng in 24 h. The construct also produces high amounts of Interleukin-8 (IL-8), from 375 ng to 1065 ng in the first 24 h. Both VEGF and IL-8 have important roles in the healing of chronic diabetic ulcers.

Transverse Tibial Bone Transport Enhances Distraction Osteogenesis and Vascularization in the Treatment of Diabetic Foot

“…VEGF is an indispensable cytokine in the process of wound healing and is involved in all stages of wound healing, while local application of VEGF can vascularize the wound and enhance the healing ability of the wound 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 . bFGF plays an important role in wound repair by promoting fibroblast proliferation, collagen proliferation, and endothelial vascularization 29 , 30 .…”

Biomedical applications of biodegradable polymers

“…So far chitosan and chitosan-composites have been formed into membranes, 500,[711][712][713] sponges, 443,[714][715][716] fibers, [717][718][719][720][721] fused microspheres, [722][723][724] and hydrogels [725][726][727][728][729] for regenerative applications. Cellular and acellular scaffolds have been used for the engineering of bone, 443,719,[722][723][724] tendon, 717 ligament, 717,721 cartilage, 428,726,728 nerve, 714,718,725,729 skin, 500,713,716,720 and vascular tissue. 711,712,715 By side group modification, deacetylation and polymer blending, chitosan can be incorporated into scaffolds with a wide range of physical properties but still retain the novel bioactive function of chitosan itself.…”

A Look at Uterine Wound Healing Through a Histopathological Study of Uterine Scars

“…Dermal wound healing in response to injury and/or noxious stimuli has been extensively studied. [1][2][3] Because of this research, it is evident that one of the hallmarks of altered wound healing in the skin is excess deposition of altered collagen and cell proliferation, which generates hypertrophic scars and keloids. Conversely, altered wound healing resulting in too little collagen deposition results in a weakened scar with little tensile strength.…”