Key points from article :
A new study led by Dr. Ophir Klein at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center offers a promising step toward developing treatments that could help human skin wounds heal without scars. Drawing inspiration from the natural scar-free healing observed in the mouth, the research team explored what makes oral tissue different from skin when it comes to wound recovery. Unlike skin injuries, wounds inside the mouth heal faster and without leaving visible marks—a phenomenon the team sought to understand at the molecular level.
To investigate, researchers created small wounds inside the mouths and on the faces of mice, then analyzed how the tissue healed over time. They discovered that fibroblasts—the cells responsible for wound healing—were more active in expressing two key proteins, GAS6 and AXL, in the mouth compared to the skin. These proteins work together to enhance tissue repair and seem to suppress a third protein, FAK, which contributes to scar formation.
When the scientists applied a solution containing GAS6 to skin wounds on mice, they found reduced levels of FAK and visibly less scarring after two weeks. This suggests that stimulating the GAS6-AXL pathway might be a viable strategy for promoting scar-free healing in the skin.
While the results are promising, experts like Ines Sequeira from Queen Mary University of London caution that more testing is needed, especially in animals with skin more similar to humans—like pigs—before the technique can move to clinical trials. Still, the research is being hailed as a meaningful advance toward a future where injuries no longer leave lasting scars.
