The skin is the largest organ of the body, which meets the environment most directly. Thus, the skin is vulnerable to various damages, particularly burn injury. Skin wound healing is a serious interaction between cell types, cytokines, mediators, the neurovascular system, and matrix remodeling. Tissue regeneration technology remarkably enhances skin repair via re-epidermalization, epidermal-stromal cell interactions, angiogenesis, and inhabitation of hypertrophic scars and keloids. The success rates of skin healing for burn injuries have significantly increased with the use of various skin substitutes. In this review, we discuss skin replacement with cells, growth factors, scaffolds, or cell-seeded scaffolds for skin tissue reconstruction and also compare the high efficacy and cost-effectiveness of each therapy. We describe the essentials, achievements, and challenges of cell-based therapy in reducing scar formation and improving burn injury treatment.
Keywords: Burns; Cell-based therapy; Skin regeneration; Skin substitutes; Stem cells.