Epithelial Wound Healing Mechanisms and Cell Dynamics

Epithelial wound healing is a complex, multistage process that restores the integrity of barrier tissues following injury. Initial haemostasis and inflammation give way to re-epithelialisation, during which keratinocytes at the wound margin adopt migratory and contractile behaviours to reseal the defect. Two principal modes of epithelial closure are recognised: protrusive cell crawling, driven by lamellipodial actin polymerisation, and supracellular purse-string contraction, mediated by an actomyosin cable that circumscribes the wound edge. These processes are coordinated through intercellular junction remodelling, biomechanical feedback from the extracellular matrix and spatially patterned signalling cues, including reactive oxygen species and growth factors. In many tissues, cells several rows back from the leading edge contribute by intercalating and stretching, thereby distributing tension and ensuring cohesive sheet migration. Underlying the cellular choreography are dynamic adjustments in cell adhesion, cytoskeletal organisation and tissue mechanics in both two‐dimensional monolayers and three‐dimensional architectures. A deeper understanding of these mechanisms informs strategies to enhance repair in chronic wounds, to engineer functional tissue grafts and to modulate scarring in clinical settings.

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Epithelial Wound Healing Mechanisms and Cell Dynamics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in epithelial wound healing mechanisms and cell dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Actomyosin cable: a contractile ring of actin filaments and myosin motors assembled at the wound margin to generate constrictive forces.

Collective cell migration: the coordinated movement of an epithelial sheet, in which cells maintain intercellular contacts while translocating en masse.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS): chemically reactive molecules derived from oxygen that can act as early damage signals and modulate cell behaviour.

Purse-string contraction: a mechanism of wound closure in which a supracellular actomyosin structure tightens like a drawstring to reduce the wound perimeter.

References

1. Damage-induced basal epithelial cell migration modulates the spatial organization of redox signaling and sensory neuron regeneration. eLife (2024).
2. Forced back into shape: Mechanics of epithelial wound repair. Current Opinion in Cell Biology (2024).
3. Cooperation of dual modes of cell motility promotes epithelial stress relaxation to accelerate wound healing. PLOS Computational Biology (2018).