Morphological and Distribution Characteristics of Sweat Glands in Hypertrophic Scar and Their Possible Effects on Sweat Gland Regeneration

The study investigated the morphological and distribution characteristics of sweat glands in hypertrophic scar tissue compared to normal skin in both children and adults. It found that in normal skin, K19 positive cells were regularly arranged in the epidermis, while in scar tissue, these cells were scarce and the secretory portions of sweat glands were irregularly organized and located between the scar and dermis. Despite this, some residual sweat glands were present in scar tissues, suggesting that regeneration of active sweat glands could occur from adult epidermal stem cells or residual glands after burn injury.