A Murine Incisional Fetal Wound-Healing Model to Study Scarless and Fibrotic Skin Repair.

The ideal response to skin injury is the complete regeneration of normal tissue without scar formation. This regenerative response is known to occur at early stages of embryonic development but is lost as the skin becomes more mature. In more developed skin, the wound-healing response is suboptimal and results in the formation of scar tissue. Scar tissue can be a significant clinical concern, causing skin dysfunction as well as psychosocial issues related to poor aesthetic outcomes. Mouse models of fetal wound healing can be useful for understanding what regulatory pathways lead to skin regeneration and scarless healing in less developed skin or scarring and fibrotic healing in more developed skin. Here, a reproducible incisional wound model in developing mice is described that our lab has used repeatedly to study scarless and fibrotic fetal wound healing.