Modeling immune cell recruitment within a wound-relevant microenvironment remains challenging. Here, we developed a novel skin-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogel model to study monocyte (THP-1) entry and phenotypic changes within a dermal fibroblast-populated (NHDF) matrix. The main novelty of this study is that it compares the effects of fibroblast-derived soluble signals and active monocyte infiltration in a 3D biomimetic model. Signaling by fibroblast-secreted soluble factors enhanced a pro-angiogenic secretome (e.g., >3-fold upregulation of VEGFA at day 1) and promoted endothelial tube formation (increasing network junctions to 1.16 ± 0.16 vs. 0.93 ± 0.23 in monoculture). In contrast, this paracrine signaling did not induce the matrix-driven pro-fibrotic response in hydrogels. Crucially, physical immune infiltration restricted monocyte penetration (mean depth of 8.92 ± 2.27 μm vs. 121.1 ± 15.9 μm in monoculture at day 5), reduced hydrogel-induced myofibroblast activation (decreasing α-SMA+ cells from 79.1% to 54.3% upon initial contact), and was associated with slower collagen loss during the early phase. (retaining a high-density collagen ratio of 3.46 ± 0.33 vs. 2.02 ± 0.29 in monoculture at day 1). These observations were accompanied by a shift toward a matrix-stabilizing profile, including increased TIMP expression and reduced pro-fibrotic markers. (ACTA2 and COL1A1). By including active immune infiltration (which was absent in previous tSVF models), we capture the transition from inflammation to the proliferation stage. Although the later stages of extensive ECM remodeling appear suppressed here, they may occur as repair progresses. Overall, our findings highlight that the immune cell is a key regulatory component for coordinating matrix preservation and vascular support. Importantly, this model replicates the early phases of wound healing, a stage where the monocyte–fibroblast secretome supports endothelial network formation. We established this innovative 3D ECM hydrogel system as a practical and physiologically relevant platform to investigate immune–matrix–stromal crosstalk.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.