In vivo reprogramming of wound-resident cells generates skin epithelial tissue

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Large cutaneous ulcers are, in severe cases, life threatening 1,2 . As the global population ages, non-healing ulcers are becoming increasingly common 1,2 . Treatment currently requires the transplantation of pre-existing epithelial components, such as skin grafts, or therapy using cultured cells 2 . Here we develop alternative supplies of epidermal coverage for the treatment of these kinds of wounds. We generated expandable epithelial tissues using in vivo reprogramming of wound-resident mesenchymal cells. Transduction of four transcription factors that specify the skin-cell lineage enabled efficient and rapid de novo epithelialization from the surface of cutaneous ulcers in mice. Our findings may provide a new therapeutic avenue for treating skin wounds and could be extended to other disease situations in which tissue homeostasis and repair are impaired.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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