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Migration and Phenotype Control of Human Dermal Fibroblasts by Electrospun Fibrous Substrates
Author(s) -
Chen Huizhi,
Lui Yuan Siang,
Tan Zhen Wei,
Lee Justin Yin Hao,
Tan Nguan Soon,
Tan Lay Poh
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced healthcare materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.288
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2192-2659
pISSN - 2192-2640
DOI - 10.1002/adhm.201801378
Subject(s) - myofibroblast , wound healing , extracellular matrix , cell migration , fibroblast , microbiology and biotechnology , dermal fibroblast , phenotype , scaffold , dermis , materials science , cell , biomedical engineering , chemistry , biology , anatomy , pathology , cell culture , fibrosis , medicine , immunology , biochemistry , genetics , gene
Electrospun fibrous matrices, mimicking extracellular matrix (ECM) hierarchical structures, are potential scaffolds for wound healing. To design functional scaffolds, it is important to explore the interactions between scaffold topographic features and cellular responses, especially directional migration and phenotypic changes, which are critical functional aspects during wound healing. Here, accelerated and persistent migration of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) is observed on fibers with aligned orientation. Furthermore, aligned fibers can induce fibroblast‐to‐myofibroblast differentiation of HDFs. During wound healing, the presence of myofibroblasts advances wound repair by rendering contractile force and ECM deposition within the early and middle courses, but its continuous persistence in the later event may not be desired due to the contribution in pathological scarring. To tune the balance, it is noted in this work that the introduction of matricellular protein angiopoietin‐like 4 (ANGPTL4) is capable of reversing the phenotypic alteration induced by aligned fibers, in a time‐dependent manner. These results indicate fibrous matrices with oriented configuration are functional in mediating directional cell migration and phenotypic change. The discoveries further suggest that tissue‐engineered fibrous grafts with precise alignment modulation and ANGPTL4 releasing properties may thus be promising to promote wound repair with minimizing scar formation.