Effect of Artesunate Combined With Fractional CO2 Laser on the Hypertrophic Scar in a Rabbit Model

Natural products for the treatment of hypertrophic scars: Preclinical and clinical studies

Hypertrophic scarring (HS) is a complication of wound healing that causes physiological and psychological distress in patients. However, the possible mechanism underlying HS is not fully understood, and there is no gold standard for its treatment. Natural products are more effective, economical, convenient, and safe than existing drugs, and they have a wide application prospect. However, there is a lack of literature on this topic, so we reviewed in vivo, in vitro, and clinical studies and screened natural products showing beneficial effects on HS that can become potential therapeutic agents for HS to fill in the gaps in the field. In addition, we discussed the drug delivery systems related to these natural products and their mechanisms in the treatment of HS. Generally speaking, natural products inhibit inflammation, myofibroblast activation, angiogenesis, and collagen accumulation by targeting interleukins, tumor necrosis factor-α, vascular endothelial growth factors, platelet-derived growth factors, and matrix metalloproteinases, so as to play an anti-HS effects of natural products are attributed to their anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenesis, and pro-apoptotic (enhancing apoptosis and autophagy) roles, thus treating HS. We also screened the potential therapeutic targets of these natural compounds for HS through network pharmacology and constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, which may provide clues for the pharmacological mechanism of natural products in treating this disease and the development and application of drugs.

CO2 Laser for Esthetic Healing of Injuries and Surgical Wounds with Small Parenchymal Defects in Oral Soft Tissues

A number of studies have recently demonstrated the effectiveness of CO2 laser irradiation for the repair and regeneration of scar tissue from injuries or surgical wounds. However, such studies of the oral mucosa are highly limited. Previous studies using CO2 laser irradiation have indicated that two factors contribute to esthetic healing, namely, artificial scabs, which are a coagulated and carbonized blood layer formed on the wound surface, and photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) for suppressing wound scarring and promoting wound healing. This review outlines basic research and clinical studies of esthetic healing with the use of a CO2 laser for both artificial scab formation by high-intensity laser therapy and PBMT in the treatment of injuries and surgical wounds with small parenchymal defects in oral soft tissues. The results showed that the wound surface was covered by an artificial scab, enabling the accumulation of blood and the perfusion necessary for tissue regeneration and repair. Subsequent PBMT also downregulated the expression of transformation growth factor-b1, which is involved in tissue scarring, and decreased the appearance of myofibroblasts. Taken together, artificial scabs and PBMT using CO2 lasers contribute to the suppression of scarring in the tissue repair process, leading to favorable esthetic and functional outcomes of wound healing.

Global research status of pathological scar reported over the period 2001-2021: A 20-year bibliometric analysis

Pathological scar is a classic problem in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Although the researches on pathological scar have been conducted for decades, the way to go to address this thorny problem still remains challenging. To the best of our knowledge, few bibliometric analysis concerning pathological scar have been reported. In this study, we set out to employ bibliometric and visual analysis to offer research status and trends of pathological scar over the period 2001-2021. All publications covering pathological scar during 2001-2021 were retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science database. We applied VOSviewer software to evaluate the keywords and research hotpots, and the online tool (http://bibliometric.com/) was used to carried out the publication trends analysis. A total of 2221 pathological scar-related articles were identified over the period 2001-2021. China is the country which had the largest volume of publications (819, 36.87%), followed by the United States (416, 18.73%), Japan (144, 6.48%), Korea (142, 6.39%), and England (118, 5.31%). Among the institutions and journals, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (167) and Wound Repair and Regeneration (85) accounted for the most papers related to pathological scar, respectively. Professor Bayat A, who had the most citation frequency (2303), made great contribution in pathological scar field. "Fibroblast", "expression", and "proliferation" were identified as the pathological scar research hotspot through analysis of the keywords. In terms of publication, China ranked first all over the world, but the numbers of publication are inconsistent with the citation frequency, ranking first and second, respectively. Shanghai Jiao Tong University and journal Wound Repair and Regeneration stand for the highest level of research in this field to a certain extent. In the early stage, the research focus was mainly on the prevention, treatment, and risk factors for recurrence of pathological scar from cases. In the later stage, the research focus was on the comprehensive management, in which the mechanism research was in-depth to the molecular and gene level.

Three-dimensional printing bilayer membranous nanofiber scaffold for inhibiting scar hyperplasia of skin

Hypertrophic scar (HS) is the manifestation of pathological wound healing, which affects the beauty of patients, and even affects the normal physical functions of patients. We aimed to develop a 3D printing layer membranous nanofiber scaffold similar to skin structure. Among them, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) copolymer (PLGA) nanofibers were used as the "epidermis" layer above, and a decellular dermis matrix (dECM) nanofiber scaffold was used as the "dermis" layer below. In vitro, experimental results showed that PLGA and dECM nanofiber scaffolds had good biocompatibility. In vivo experiments showed that BLM nanofiber scaffolds could inhibit collagen fiber deposition and angiogenesis, to inhibit the formation of hypertrophic scars. This study shows a simple and effective method for preventing and inhibiting the formation of hypertrophic scars.

6-OH-BDE-47 inhibited proliferation of skin fibroblasts from pygmy killer whale by inducing cell cycle arrest

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-BDEs) are major transformation products of PBDEs that readily bioaccumulate in the marine food web. Although 6-OH-BDE-47 is frequently and abundantly detected in cetaceans, its potential toxic effects are largely unknown. We explored the toxicological pathways and mechanisms of OH-BDEs by exposing pygmy killer whale skin fibroblast cell lines (PKW-LWHT) to 6-OH-BDE-47 at concentrations ranging from 0.02, 0.2, 2 to 4 μM. The result showed that 6-OH-BDE-47 inhibited cell proliferation in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The cell cycle data revealed that the cell cycle was arrest at the G0/G1 phase by 6-OH-BDE-47. Using qPCR and Western blot assay, we found that 6-OH-BDE-47 up-regulated the transcription and expression level of p21 and RB1 and down-regulated the expression level of Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA), CDK2, CDK4, cyclin D1, cyclin E2, E2F1, and E2F3 and the cellular phosphorylated RB1. The results showed that 6-OH-BDE-47 was able to arrest the cell cycle of PKW-LWHT cells at G1 phase by changing the expression level of related regulatory genes in G1 stage, and finally inhibit cell proliferation.