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Skin Scaffolding
02 June 2016

Skin Scaffolding

Beauty is only skin deep, so the saying goes. However our skin is more than window dressing for our innards. It’s our first line of defence against the outside world. When seriously damaged, say by deep burns, surgeons transplant skin from elsewhere to repair it. Unfortunately these grafts are often only partially functional. An alternative treatment, aiming to restore greater function, involves biodegradable scaffolds containing stem cells. The grafted scaffold encourages skin cells and blood vessels to grow. The longer this takes, the more likely infection will occur. Looking to speed this up, researchers tried using stem cells stimulated with a substance called lipopolysaccharide. Mice with skin damage given scaffolds (green in this skin section) containing stimulated stem cells (blue/red) had more blood vessels in the graft after one week than mice given unstimulated stem cells. This brings us a step closer to recovering fully functional skin in burn victims.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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