Fat cells to help wounds heal without scars

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, have developed an advanced way to treat wounds so they heal as regenerated skin rather than scar tissue.

This method works by converting the most common type of cells found in wounds into fat cells — something previously thought impossible in humans.

Fat cells, called adipocytes, are normally present in the skin but disappear when wounds heal as scars. The most common cells found in healing wounds are myofibroblasts, whose job is to form scar tissue.

Scar tissue also lacks hair follicles, which is why it looks different from normal skin. Researchers used this feature as the basis of their study, successfully turning myofibroblasts into fat cells that do not create scars.

“Essentially, we can alter wound healing so that it leads to skin regeneration rather than the formation of simple scars,” said George Cotsarelis, MD, Chair of the Department of Dermatology and Milton Bixler Hartzell Professor of Dermatology at Penn, and lead investigator of the project.

“The secret lies in regenerating hair follicles so that fat regenerates in response to their signals. Previously, myofibroblasts were thought incapable of becoming another cell type, but our work shows that we can efficiently and stably convert them into adipocytes.”

These findings could revolutionise dermatology. The first and most obvious application would be to develop a therapy that converts myofibroblasts into fat cells, helping wounds heal without leaving scars.

Increasing fat cells in tissue may also be useful in addressing ageing, particularly in the face, to counteract deep and permanent wrinkles through new anti-age treatments.

Results were published online in the journal Science.