Inflammation in Wound Repair: Role and Function of Inflammation in Wound Repair

Coordination of the innate immune and adaptive system during the inflammation stage is essential to successful wound healing. The process of acute wound healing can be divided into three phases: inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. It is during the first phase, inflammation, that cells of the innate immune system generate an antimicrobial state and mount host defenses, resulting in the removal of pathogens and wound debris. Adaptive immune cells, in particular T cells, generate cytokines, which regulate expression of antimicrobial peptides and proteins and cutaneous immune cells relevant to wound healing. At the end of the inflammation phase, proinflammatory cells give way to anti-inflammatory cells, which leads to the resolution of inflammation and the initiation of repair during the proliferative phase. If proinflammatory signals are overt and resolution of inflammation is dysfunctional, non-healing wounds can develop.

Duke Scholars

Author Amanda S MacLeod Dermatology