Microarray as a new tool to study hypertrophic and keloid scarring

Background. Normal wound healing results from a complex set of reactions between blood cells, skin cells, and biochemical mediators including pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules, growth factors, cytokines, hormones, and vitamins. As this cascade of reactions is ultimately regulated by the coordinated expression and silencing of numerous genes, the gene expression analysis of hypertrophic and keloid scarring (HS and KS, respectively) should provide important information and improve our understanding of HS and KS pathophysiology. Microarray is a new tool that can shed light on the complex genetic background that regulates pathologic scarring. This review will describe basic principles of microarray technique for wound care professionals and explain how this technology is contributing to a better understanding of HS and KS biology.

A brief review of the literature on microarray in HS and KS over the last 7 years was conducted.

The inter-experiment comparisons are somewhat difficult because of differences in the probes used, diverse source of samples, different time points of wound healing, and in-vivo or ex-vivo analysis. Wound healing gene expression must be studied in an environment where all cells and mediators could show how the regulatory network functions.

All results confirmed previous findings about HS and KS related to over-expression of collagen or extracellular matrix (ECM) genes. One conclusion after this initial approach is that a standardized animal model, probe, and software for data analyses to compare results would increase the understanding of HS and KS pathophysiology.