Use of a cell-based interactive wound dressing to enhance healing of excisional wounds in nude mice

The need to have viable, metabolically active cells to heal wounds is well recognized, because there is clear evidence that cellular dysfunction delays healing. This suggests that addition of metabolically active cells to a delayed healing tissue could enhance the healing of the tissue. Therefore, we examined the ability of an interactive wound dressing composed of human keratinocytes or fibroblasts grown on microporous bio-reactor beads and placed into a polyethylene bag to facilitate the delayed healing of wounds in nude mice. A 1 x 1 cm wound was made on the backs of nude mice, and the dressing with or without viable cells was placed on the wound for 8 to 24 days, with dressing changes every other day. Wound area and time to heal measurements were compared after various interventions including freeze-thawing. The data shows that the interactive wound dressing was more effective than the control dressings (p<0.05) and that keratinocytes were more effective than fibroblasts in wound healing (p<0.05). Freezing-thawing of the interactive wound dressings destroyed the activity of the dressing. Studies examining cells using a live/dead viability assay showed that both keratinocytes and fibroblasts were alive after 2 days on the mice. Surprisingly, human fibroblasts appeared to exhibit bridging behavior that is indicative of fibroblast proliferation. We conclude that a simple interactive wound dressing using either keratinocytes or fibroblasts can enhance the healing of wounds in nude mice.