| Abstract | In dermal wound healing, after the skin is injured, several interacting events are initiated including inflammation, tissue formation, angiogenesis, tissue contraction and tissue remodelling. Crucial to all of these events is the interaction of a variety of cells with the extracellular matrix (ECM). After the blood clot has formed during the inflammatory response, white blood cells invade the wound region by migrating through the ECM and fibroblasts subsequently migrate into the region and begin to replace the blood clot with collagen. These cells biochemically alter the ECM by degrading the fibrin and producing collagen and, while new tissue is being generated, endothelial cells migrate into the region forming a new vasculature in the process known as angiogenesis. In this paper we present a new model of wound healing angiogenesis that is coupled to a model of dermal tissue regeneration. Here, we incorporate discrete fibroblast migration through the fibrous matrix in response to a chemical produced in the wound. Whilst migrating, the fibroblasts degrade fibrin, deposit collagen and also realign the pre-existing fibres. Furthermore, a direct coupling between the spatial distribution of collagen to vessel migration during angiogenesis is considered, whereby collagen alignment affects the path taken by nascent capillaries. We investigate the potential impact of these processes on the speed and success of healing through measures of oxygen tension and collagen alignment within the wound area. Throughout all of the above, we discuss the clinical implications of our study at length. |
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