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Structural mechanics modeling reveals stress-adaptive features of cutaneous scars

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Abstract

The scar is a predominant outcome of adult mammalian wound healing despite being associated with partial function loss. Here in this paper, we have described the structure of a full-thickness normal scar as a “di-fork” with dual biomechanical compartments using in vivo and ex vivo experiments. We used structural mechanics simulations to model the deformation fields computationally and stress distribution in the scar in response to external forces. Despite its loss of tissue components, we have found that the scar has stress-adaptive features that cushion the underlying tissues from external mechanical impacts. Thus, this new finding can motivate research to understand the biomechanical advantages of a scar in maintaining the primary function of the skin, i.e., mechanical barrier despite permanent loss of some tissues and specialized functions.

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Acknowledgements

The study and B. Ghosh were funded by SERB, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (SB/S5/AB-01/2016, Dt-04.09.2018). The authors acknowledge Central Research Facility, IIT Kharagpur for providing nanoindentation facility. We created the diagrammatic figures of skin and scar using Biorender under academic license.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Science and Technology, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India

    Biswajoy Ghosh, Mousumi Mandal & Jyotirmoy Chatterjee

  2. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India

    Pabitra Mitra

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  1. Biswajoy Ghosh
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  2. Mousumi Mandal
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  4. Jyotirmoy Chatterjee
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Correspondence to Biswajoy Ghosh.

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Ghosh, B., Mandal, M., Mitra, P. et al. Structural mechanics modeling reveals stress-adaptive features of cutaneous scars. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 20, 371–377 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-020-01384-7

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