An Antagonistic Relation Between Wound Contraction and Regeneration

Abstract

Scar formation appears to be a derivative to wound contraction, resulting, as it does from synthesis of collagen fibers, in the tensile field generated during wound contraction. It appears, therefore, that spontaneous repair in adults results primarily from the contraction process rather than scar formation. Several lines of evidence show that wound contraction antagonizes regeneration. The evidence includes studies of healing in the developing frog, rabbit ear, human oral mucosa, and skin wounds in the axolotl, as well as several lines of evidence based on multiyear use of the dermis regeneration template (DRT) in skin, peripheral nerve, and conjunctiva wounds. In a quantitative study of peripheral nerve regeneration, the evidence clearly shows an inverse relation between contraction and regeneration.