Background

This project is an industrial CASE studentship, based at KCL in collaboration with Unilever, to investigate mechanisms driving differences in scarring and wound healing between the oral cavity and skin.  In contrast to the skin, oral wound healing proceeds with minimal, usually imperceptible, or even no scar formation. These properties have been shown to be due to intrinsic properties of oral fibroblasts, and implies differences exist in autocrine/paracrine signalling, as well as cell-matrix interactions.  Secreted small extracellular vesicles have been established as an important mechanism for local inter-cellular communication and tissue homeostasis, as well as playing an important role in tissue repair. They have also shown therapeutic potential with the additional benefit of reduced ethical and processing concerns associated with cell engraftment.

Preliminary work using small extracellular vesicles isolated from oral fibroblasts (periodontal ligament) showed greater activation of growth factor signalling and phenotypic change when applied to other oral fibroblasts compared to vesicles derived from skin cells. Preliminary analysis showed oral vesicles contain proteins with roles in wound healing, cell adhesion, and extracellular matrix receptor interaction.

This suggests that orally derived extracellular vesicles may act selectively to induce improved wound healing outcomes favouring regeneration rather than fibrotic repair.

The project aims to identify candidate molecules, manipulate their expression in dermal fibroblasts utilising in vitro organotypic models, and then determine their relevance and impact on wound healing and skin regeneration.

This project is a cell and molecular biology focused project with complementary bioinformatic analyses, and offers a 3 month placement at Unilever laboratories in India as well as support from the Unilever Innovation Hub based at KCL in London.