Effect of Collagen Nanotopography on Keloid Fibroblast Proliferation and Matrix Synthesis: Implications for Dermal Wound Healing

Keloids are locally exuberant dermal scars characterized by excessive fibroblast proliferation and matrix accumulation. Although treatment strategies include surgical removal and intralesional steroid injections, an effective regimen is yet to be established due to a high rate of recurrence. The regressing center and growing margin of the keloid have different collagen architecture and also differ in the rate of proliferation. To investigate whether proliferation is responsive to collagen topography, keloid, scar, and dermal fibroblasts were cultured on nanopatterned scaffolds varying in collagen fibril diameter and alignment-small and large diameter, aligned and random fibrils, and compared to cells grown on flat collagen-coated substrates, respectively. Cell morphology, proliferation, and expression of six genes related to proliferation (cyclin D1), phenotype (α-smooth muscle actin), and matrix synthesis (collagens I and III, and matrix metalloproteinase-1 and -2) were measured to evaluate cell response. Fibril alignment was shown to reduce proliferation and matrix synthesis in all three types of fibroblasts. Further, keloid cells were found to be most responsive to nanotopography.