ABSTRACT
Fibroblasts are important in the healing of acute and chronic wounds and, in microscopic analysis, they have been determined to be a major cell type in dermal biopsies from venous ulcers and lipodermatosclerotic skin. The regulatory mechanisms for explaining why fibroblasts from venous ulcers show reduced growth and an attenuated response to growth factors remain unknown. In biopsies of venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and control subjects, no major differences in keratinocyte immunohistochemical staining were observed for cell cycle regulatory proteins or apoptosis-related proteins. Myofibroblast differentiation is a normal process that occurs during wound healing, but in conditions of chronic inflammation, persistent myofibroblast expression has been known to lead to tissue fibrosis. The extracellular matrix is an important structural and functional scaffolding that is made up of proteins that are necessary for cell function, wound repair, epithelialization, blood vessel support, cell differentiation and signaling, and cellular migration.
