TLDR Wnt4 protein makes the outer skin layer thicker in burn wounds by turning on a specific healing pathway and loosening the connections between skin cells.
The study explored the role of Wnt4, a protein, in burn wound healing. It was discovered that overexpression of Wnt4 increased the thickness of the epidermis in burn wounds, potentially improving the quality of healing. This effect is likely due to Wnt4's activation of the canonical Wnt signalling pathway and its reduction of cell junctions between epidermal cells. However, Wnt4 overexpression did not significantly impact collagen secretion, vessel formation, or fibroblast distribution. When Wnt4 was reduced in HaCaT skin cells, cell proliferation decreased and apoptosis increased, suggesting Wnt4's role in cell migration during wound healing. The authors suggest that Wnt4 could be a potential target for improving burn wound healing, but note that these findings should be validated in human samples.
3 citations,
July 2022 in “Stem Cell Research & Therapy” Turning off a specific gene in stem cells speeds up skin healing by helping cells move better.
8 citations,
January 2022 in “Burns and trauma” Skin cell-derived vesicles can help heal skin injuries effectively.
13 citations,
August 2020 in “Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology” Twist1 helps maintain important features of cells crucial for hair growth by working with Tcf4 and β-catenin.
35 citations,
February 2019 in “Cell Communication and Signaling” BMP6 and Wnt10b control whether hair follicles are resting or growing.
27 citations,
April 2017 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” After skin is damaged, noncoding dsRNA helps prostaglandins and Wnts work together to repair tissue and promote hair growth.
77 citations,
July 2012 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology” Wnt10b overexpression can regenerate hair follicles, possibly helping treat hair loss and alopecia.
Dermal stem cells help regenerate hair follicles and heal skin wounds.
94 citations,
June 2016 in “The FASEB Journal” The Wnt/β-catenin pathway helps tissue regeneration but can also cause fibrosis, and drugs that inhibit this pathway may aid in healing skin and heart tissues.
31 citations,
August 2021 in “Stem Cell Research & Therapy” The conclusion is that understanding how hair follicle stem cells live or die is important for maintaining healthy tissue and repairing injuries, and could help treat hair loss, but there are still challenges to overcome.
24 citations,
August 2021 in “Biologics” Stem cell therapy shows promise in improving burn wound healing.
79 citations,
January 2018 in “Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Developmental Biology” Understanding how baby skin heals without scars could help develop treatments for adults to heal wounds without leaving scars.
