Premium
Application of stems cells in wound healing—An update
Author(s) -
Teng Miao,
Huang Yuesheng,
Zhang Hengshu
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
wound repair and regeneration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.847
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1524-475X
pISSN - 1067-1927
DOI - 10.1111/wrr.12152
Subject(s) - stem cell , wound healing , medicine , regenerative medicine , embryonic stem cell , adult stem cell , bone marrow stem cell , extracellular matrix , stem cell therapy , adipose tissue , biology , surgery , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , gene
Wound healing is a complex but well‐orchestrated tissue repair process composed of a series of molecular and cellular events conducted by various types of cells and extracellular matrix. Despite a variety of therapeutic strategies proposed to accelerate the healing of acute and/or chronic wounds over the past few decades, effective treatment of chronic nonhealing wounds still remains a challenge. Due to the recent advances in stem cell research, a dramatic enthusiasm has been drawn to the application of stem cells in regenerative medicine. Both embryonic and adult stem cells have prolonged self‐renewal capacity and are able to differentiate into various tissue types. Nevertheless, use of embryonic stem cells is limited, owing to ethical concerns and legal restrictions. Adult stem cells, which could be isolated from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue, skin and hair follicles,are being explored extensively to facilitate the healing of both acute and chronic wounds. The current article summarizes recent research on various types of stem cell‐based strategies applied to improve wound healing. In addition, future directions of stem cell‐based therapy in wound healing have also been discussed. Finally, despite its apparent advantages, limitations and challenges of stem cell therapy are discussed.