Wound Healing and Skin Regeneration

The 2014 study "Wound Healing and Skin Regeneration" investigated the role of skin appendages, particularly hair follicles, in wound healing and skin regeneration. The researchers found that wound healing rates were faster during the anagen phase of hair follicle cycling due to factors such as an extensive blood vessel network and increased developmental pathway genes. The study also discovered that mice deficient for the Sept4/ARTS gene, which induces apoptosis in the catagen phase, showed improved wound healing. The research highlighted the process of scarless wound healing in mammals and the role of various cells and signaling pathways in this process. The study also found that yd-T immune cells and FGF9 play a crucial role in hair follicle regeneration following wounds. However, the application of prostaglandin (PGD₂), an inflammatory mediator, was found to inhibit hair neogenesis. The study concluded that understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the plasticity of epithelial stem cells in the hair follicle is necessary to enhance tissue regeneration during wound healing.