Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009;37(4-5):399-421.
doi: 10.1615/critrevbiomedeng.v37.i4-5.50.

Stem cells for skin tissue engineering and wound healing

Ming Chen  1 , Melissa Przyborowski, Francois Berthiaume
Affiliations
Review

Stem cells for skin tissue engineering and wound healing

Ming Chen et al. Crit Rev Biomed Eng. 2009.

Abstract

The tremendous ability of the skin's epidermis to regenerate is due to the presence of epidermal stem cells that continuously produce keratinocytes, which undergo terminal differentiation to a keratinized layer that provides the skin's barrier properties. The ability to control this process in vitro has made it possible to develop various types of tissue-engineered skin grafts, some of which are among the first tissue-engineered products to ever reach the market. In the past 30 years, these products have been applied with some success to the treatment of chronic skin wounds such as diabetic and venous ulcers and deep, acute wounds such as burns. Current technologies remain partially effective in their ability to restore other skin structures, for example, the dermis, which is critical to the overall long-term appearance and function of the skin. As yet, none of these approaches can regenerate skin appendages (e.g. hair follicles and sweat glands). The use of earlier progenitor and stem cells, including embryonic stem cells, is gaining interest in the attempt to overcome such limitations. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that "adult" stem cells, which are present in the circulation, target areas of injury and likely participate in the wound-healing process. In this paper, we start with an overview of the wound-healing process and current methods used for wound treatment, both conventional and tissue-engineering based. We then review current research on the various types of stem cells used for skin tissue engineering and wound healing, and provide future directions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phases of Wound Healing. Reproduced by permission from ref .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Atiyeh BS, Ioannovich J, Al-Amm CA, El-Musa KA. Management of acute and chronic open wounds: the importance of moist environment in optimal wound healing. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2002 Sep;3(3):179–95. - PubMed
    1. Braddock M, Campbell CJ, Zuder D. Current therapies for wound healing: electrical stimulation, biological therapeutics, and the potential for gene therapy. Int J Dermatol. 1999 Nov;38(11):808–17. - PubMed
    1. Beckrich K, Aronovitch SA. Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: a comparison of costs in medical vs. surgical patients. Nurs Econ. 1999 Sep-Oct;17(5):263–71. - PubMed
    1. Crovetti G, Martinelli G, Issi M, Barone M, Guizzardi M, Campanati B, et al. Platelet gel for healing cutaneous chronic wounds. Transfus Apher Sci. 2004 Apr;30(2):145–51. - PubMed
    1. Blitterswijk CAv, Thomsen P. Tissue engineering. 1. Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press; 2008.

Publication types