Monitoring dermal wound healing after mesenchymal stem cell transplantation using nonlinear optical microscopy

Nonlinear optical microscopy (NLOM) was applied for monitoring dermal wound healing after mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation. Our results showed that NLOM can reveal different regeneration processes of collagen in nontreated and MSC-treated wound dermis. Specifically, the temporal increases in the intensity of second-harmonic-generation signals can quantify kinetic properties of collagen regeneration. Orientation analysis of collagen fiber bundles can monitor the formation of new normal collagen fiber bundles, which is an indicator for evaluating the therapy response. It was also found that NLOM can track MSCs' location and recruitment. These findings suggested that NLOM is ideal for monitoring the progress of dermal wound healing.