Comparison of hair dermal cells and skin fibroblasts in a collagen sponge for use in wound repair

Abstract

The adult hair follicle has well-defined dermal and epithelial populations that display distinct developmental properties.
The follicular dermal cells, namely the dermal papilla and dermal sheath, are derived from the same mesenchymal cells as dermal
fibroblasts and therefore, we believed that follicular cells could be useful sources of interfollicular keratinocytes and
fibroblast for skin wound repair. In this study, we evaluated the relative effect of various mesenchymal-derived cells on
wound healing following skin injury. Human dermal cells, including two different follicular dermal cells and skin fibroblasts
were cultured in collagen sponges and compared with respect to wound healing. Results indicated that there was no significant
difference in wound contraction and angiogenesis among the cell types. Further, dermal sheath cells exhibited relatively poor
results compared with other cells in new collagen synthesis. Finally, basement membrane reformation and new collagen synthesis
for the dermal papilla cell grafts was superior to those of the dermal sheath cells or fibroblasts.

Keywordshair–collagen–transplantation–skin–wound