Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society
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Effect of hyperbaric oxygen on human skin cells in culture and in human dermal and skin equivalents.
A critical stage of cutaneous wound healing is the development and maturation of the epidermis. In the aged, and in certain pathologies, this repair process is compromised due to a variety of deficiencies, one of which is tissue oxygenation. Several phases of wound healing are dependent on adequate tissue oxygen levels, and hyperbaric oxygenation has been shown to transiently elevate these levels. ⋯ In contrast, hyperbaric treatment up to 3 atmospheres dramatically enhanced keratinocyte differentiation, and epidermopoiesis in the complete human skin equivalent. These results support the importance of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in wound healing, and should provide an insight into oxygen utilization during repair of peripheral human tissue. The results also show the utility of the human skin equivalent as a model for evaluation of parameters involved in wound healing.