From solid to "liquid", how skin regenerates after a wound - Researchers at the Free University of Brussels have discovered that wound healing relies on a change in the physical properties of the skin.
The ability to repair tissue following injury is essential to the survival of animals. Following a wound, the skin repairs itself through the activation, migration and division of skin stem cells. Inadequate wound healing leads to chronic wounds, a major clinical problem with a huge financial burden.
In a study published in the scientific journal Cell, researchers led by Prof. Cédric Blanpain, MD/PhD, researcher at the WEL Research Institute, director of the Stem Cell and Cancer Laboratory and professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles , have discovered that wound healing is accompanied by a change in the physical properties of the skin, with a transition from the solid to the liquid state that is essential for tissue repair.
Using multidisciplinary approaches combining analysis of stem cell behavior at single-cell resolution, mathematical modeling, biophysical studies and functional experiments, Rahul Sarate and colleagues investigated changes in the physical properties of skin during wound healing and the molecular mechanisms that regulate this process.
A few days after injury, the skin changes from a solid to a more fluid state, allowing stem cells to move and repair damaged tissue. The skin then returns to its solid state to complete the healing process.
The study shows that these physical transitions are essential for healing. The researchers identified a specific genetic signature that regulates this process. Pharmacological blockade of different components of this signature strongly inhibits wound healing, underlining the importance of these physical changes for tissue repair. These results could lead to new treatments for chronic wounds.
" It was very exciting and surprising to discover that tissue regeneration is orchestrated by modulating the physical properties of the skin. Activating signaling pathways that regulate dynamic changes in tissue fluidity during wound healing is essential for tissue repair," explains Rahul Sarate, first author of the paper.
" It will be important to define whether similar changes in tissue physical properties are also important for the repair of other tissues. We hope that by modulating the dynamic transition of tissue fluidity, we will be able to stimulate tissue regeneration and wound healing, which could be very important for treating patients with chronic wounds that do not heal spontaneously," comments Professor Cédric Blanpain, leader of the study.