ECIS, cellular adhesion and migration in keratinocytes

Abstract

Evaluation of keratinocyte adhesion and migration using ECIS, as will be shown below, is predominantly used to study the effects of various genes, proteins and molecules on wound healing. Keratinocytes undertake epithelialisation during the process of wound healing, and understanding their function, and their regulating factors, is important in understanding why some wounds fail to heal. This chapter will detail the physiology behind wound healing and epithelialisation, and explore the problem that chronic wounds pose to the clinician today. It will also highlight the importance of both adhesion and migration in cellular movements. Furthermore it will detail the methods by which ECIS has been used to evaluate keratinocyte function, and discuss various methods of interpreting ECIS results. Finally, it will review the current literature on ECIS evaluation of keratinocyte function. © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012.