All vertebrates possess mechanisms to restore damaged tissues with outcomes ranging from regeneration to scarring. Unfortunately, the mammalian response to tissue injury most often culminates in scar formation. Accounting for nearly 45% of deaths in the developed world, fibrosis is a process that stands diametrically opposed to functional tissue regeneration. Strategies to improve wound healing outcomes therefore require methods to limit fibrosis. Wound healing is guided by precise spatiotemporal deposition and remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM, comprising the non-cellular component of tissues, is a signalling depot that is differentially regulated in scarring and regenerative healing. This Review focuses on the importance of the native matrix components during mammalian wound healing alongside a comparison to scar-free healing and then presents an overview of matrix-based strategies that attempt to exploit the role of the ECM to improve wound healing outcomes.

所有脊椎动物都具有恢复受损组织的机制，其结果从再生到瘢痕形成。不幸的是，哺乳动物对组织损伤的反应最常以疤痕形成告终。占发达国家死亡人数近 45% 的纤维化是一个与功能性组织再生截然相反的过程。因此，改善伤口愈合结果的策略需要限制纤维化的方法。伤口愈合由细胞外基质 (ECM) 的精确时空沉积和重塑引导。ECM 包含组织的非细胞成分，是一种信号储存库，在瘢痕形成和再生愈合中受到不同程度的调节。