TLDR MSC-laden hydrogels enable scarless wound healing with hair growth.
The study developed mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-laden hydrogels for scarless wound healing with hair follicles, addressing the challenge of regenerating functional tissue in full-thickness wounds. The hydrogels, composed of aligned silk nanofibers, were used to load MSCs, which modulated paracrine signaling and stimulated angiogenesis and macrophage phenotype switching. This created a suitable environment for functional wound recovery. Compared to MSC-free hydrogels, the MSC-laden hydrogels resulted in faster healing and scarless tissue formation with hair follicles. The system's tunability, through adjusting the ratio of silk nanofibers and MSCs, suggested potential for further improvement. This was the first report of scarless skin regeneration with hair follicles using silk material systems, indicating promise for future in vivo studies and clinical applications.
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