Human dermal fibroblasts migration

Chronic wounds are a major health problem and are characterized by impaired healing. The pathogenesis leading to impaired healing (failure to heal) is not clear. Venous ulcers are a prototypic type of chronic wounds and can be both difficult to heal and show high rates of recurrence (21% by year 1). Our hypothesis, at the cellular level, is that resident cells within chronic, non-healing wounds (ulcers) are either senescent or unable to respond to growth factors and other stimulatory activity.

This project is leaded by the research line in Mechanisms of tissue repair and regeneration of the TR2Lab and it is part of the collaboration of Professor Marta Otero-Vinas with Professor Falanga’s Lab.

Our preliminary results were been presented in an international meeting:

• Dermal fibroblasts derived from human venous ulcers show a high migratory and proliferative activity in vitro

Recently, we have been published a technical article about different methods for studying cell migration:

• Research Techniques Made Simple: Analysis of Collective Cell Migration Using the Wound Healing Assay. Grada A, Otero-Vinas M, Prieto-Castrillo F, Obagi Z, Falanga V. (2017). Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2017 Feb;137(2):e11-e16. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2016.11.020.