What are fibroblasts?
Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue, housed in skin, tendons and other tissues. Connective tissue is responsible for some functions of padding, support, elasticity and protection.
They are located in the dermis, the middle layer of the skin, and also in the hypodermis, the deepest layer of the skin. They can also be found in other types of connective tissue, such as bone tissue, muscle tissue, nerve tissue and connective tissue.
Function of fibroblasts
- The function of fibroblasts is to secrete collagen proteins to maintain the structure of many tissues.
- They are also involved in wound healing. When a wound occurs, fibroblasts are activated to participate in the production of extracellular matrix and repair damaged tissues.
- Fibroblasts secure connective tissues by giving them support, strength and elasticity. But it has been proven that after the age of 40, the body loses approximately 1% of collagen per year.
- Fibroblasts can also release cytokines and other inflammatory mediators to help regulate inflammation in the body.
Over the years, like other cells, fibroblasts lose their capacity, in this case to produce collagen and other substances. This involves changes in the texture, luminosity and tone of the skin, which accentuates the signs of aging.
How to obtain fibroblasts
There are several ways to obtain fibroblasts for scientific studies or medical therapies. Some of the most common ways to obtain fibroblasts include:
- From tissue biopsies: these are small tissue samples taken during surgery or a medical procedure.
- From cell lines: these are cells that have been grown and maintained in the laboratory. These cell lines can be obtained from tissues from different parts of the body, such as skin, liver or bone tissue.
- From stem cells: these are undifferentiated cells that have the ability to differentiate into different types of cells in the body. Stem cells can be obtained from different sources, such as bone marrow, umbilical cord blood or body fat.
Obviously, obtaining fibroblasts for any purpose requires proper handling and processing to ensure the quality and purity of the cells.
Fibroblastic stimulation
Clearly, knowing the role of fibroblasts, the idea of stimulating fibroblasts to help accelerate wound and scar healing while improving skin structure is very attractive.
In aesthetics, the treatment with or on fibroblasts, allows to rejuvenate the skin by enhancing its regeneration.
However, since to stimulate fibroblasts it is necessary to penetrate into the dermis, this is a complex action, since many active ingredients that could act have molecular weights higher than the skin allows.
In the face of these conditions, few treatments are shown to be effective in targeting fibroblasts.
Some professionals talk about oxygen therapy or dermalifting as possible options, but the reality is that only electroporation is capable of penetrating to the dermiswith highly concentrated active ingredients.
Retinol and certain peptides are able to reach the dermis and increase collagen synthesis. Chemical skin peeling is also capable of stimulating fibroblast production.
