Biomimetic fibroblast-loaded artificial dermis with 'sandwich' structure and designed gradient pore sizes promotes wound healing by favoring granulation tissue formation and wound re-epithelialization

摘要

The structure of dermal scaffolds greatly affects the engineered tissue's functions and the activities of seeded cells. Current strategies of dermal scaffold design tend to yield a homogeneous architecture with a uniform pore size. However, the structures of the human dermis are not homogeneous in terms of either interstitial spaces or architecture at different dermal depths. In the present study, a biomimetic fibroblasts-loaded artificial dermis composed of three-layer scaffolds with different pore sizes was prepared. The three-layer scaffolds, which look similar to a sandwich, mimic the natural structures of the human dermis, which has comparatively larger pores in the outer layers and smaller pores in the middle layer. The fibroblasts-loaded artificial dermis were shown to favor wound healing by promoting granulation tissue formation and wound re-epithelialization, as determined by a histological study and Western blotting. Our data indicated that the biomimetic fibroblasts-loaded artificial dermis with "Sandwich" structure and designed gradient pore sizes may hold promise as tissue-engineered dermis.