New breakthrough will make scars and wrinkles a thing of the past
Many people have scar tissue, and everyone, one day gets wrinkles, now both of those human frailties could be a thing of the past.
Key takeaways
- Myofibroblasts are the most common type of cell found in healing wounds, and they're associated with scar formation.
- George Cotsarelis of UP, the research team was able to get Myofibroblasts to transform into a different type of cell known as adipocytes – these are the fat cells that are present in normal skin, but absent in scars.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'New breakthrough will make scars and wrinkles a thing of the past', 311 Institute, 12 January. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/new-breakthrough-makes-scars-and-wrinkles-a-thing-of-the-past/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
There are a few of reasons that scar tissue looks different than regular skin – it lacks hair follicles and it has no fat cells, and now a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (UP) and the University of California (UC) have succeeded in creating a combined solution that addresses both issues. And, as a result they've been able to get wounds to heal perfectly with regenerated skin - and as an added bonus, found a way to reverse wrinkles and advance anti-ageing research. Win win!
Myofibroblasts are the most common type of cell found in healing wounds, and they're associated with scar formation. Led by Dr. George Cotsarelis of UP, the research team was able to get Myofibroblasts to transform into a different type of cell known as adipocytes – these are the fat cells that are present in normal skin, but absent in scars.
In the meantime scientists already knew which growth factors were necessary to grow hair follicles in the skin and they managed to use this information to induce follicles to grow at wound sites on mice, so what they had were two separate solutions - two sides of the same coin, but what they didn't know was how to combine the two techniques together.
However, what the researchers recently discovered was that when those follicles form they release a factor called Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP), and it in turn signals the surrounding myofibroblasts to convert into adipocytes. It was the breakthrough they needed and it completed the coin.
"The secret is to regenerate hair follicles first," summarized Cotsarelis, "after that, the fat will regenerate in response to the signals from those follicles."
Now, hot on the heels of other scar reversing technologies, such as the stem cell based SkinGun from RenovaCare, it looks like scars might finally have met their match.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Many people have scar tissue, and everyone, one day gets wrinkles, now both of those human frailties could be a thing of the past.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- University of Pennsylvania upenn.edu
- University of California universityofcalifornia.edu
- Myofibroblast en.wikipedia.org
- Adipocyte en.wikipedia.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 12 January 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). New breakthrough will make scars and wrinkles a thing of the past. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/new-breakthrough-makes-scars-and-wrinkles-a-thing-of-the-past/
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