Skin wound healing involves Notch/Jagged1 signaling. However, little is known how Jag1 expression level in epidermal stem cells (ESCs) contributes to wound healing and scar formation. We applied multiple cellular and molecular techniques to examine how Jag1 expression in ESCs modulates ESCs differentiation to myofibroblasts (MFB) in vitro, interpret how Jag1 expression in ESCs is involved in wound healing and scar formation in mice, and evaluate the effects of porcine acellular dermal matrix (ADM) treatment on wound healing and scar formation. We found that Jag1, Notch1 and Hes1 expression was up-regulated in the wound tissue during the period of wound healing. Furthermore, Jag1 expression level in the ESCs was positively associated with the level of differentiation to MFB. ESC-specific knockout of Jag1 delayed wound healing and promoted scar formation in vivo. In addition, we reported that porcine ADM treatment after skin incision could accelerate wound closure and reduce scar formation in vivo. This effect was associated with decreased expression of MFB markers, including α-SMA Col-1 and Col-III in wound tissues. Finally, we confirmed that porcine ADM treatment could increase Jag1, Notch1 and Hesl expression in wound tissues. Taken together, our results suggested that ESC-specific Jag1 expression levels are critical for wound healing and scar formation, and porcine ADM treatment would be beneficial in promoting wound healing and preventing scar formation by enhancing Notch/Jagged1 signaling pathway in ESCs.

皮肤伤口愈合涉及Notch / Jagged1信号传导。然而，鲜为人知的是表皮干细胞（ESC）中Jag1表达水平如何促进伤口愈合和疤痕形成。我们应用了多种细胞和分子技术，研究了ESC中Jag1表达如何在体外调节ESC向成肌纤维细胞（MFB）的分化，解释ESC中Jag1表达如何与小鼠伤口愈合和瘢痕形成有关，并评估猪脱细胞真皮基质（ADM）处理对伤口愈合和瘢痕形成的影响。我们发现在伤口愈合期间，Jag1，Notch1和Hes1表达在伤口组织中上调。此外，ESC中Jag1表达水平与向MFB分化的水平呈正相关。Jag1的ESC特异性敲除可延迟伤口愈合并促进体内疤痕形成。此外，我们报道了皮肤切口后的猪ADM处理可加速伤口闭合并减少体内疤痕形成。该作用与伤口组织中MFB标志物（包括α-SMACol-1和Col-III）的表达降低有关。最后，我们证实了猪ADM处理可以增加伤口组织中Jag1，Notch1和Hesl的表达。综上所述，我们的结果表明，ESC特异的Jag1表达水平对于伤口愈合和瘢痕形成至关重要，而猪ADM处理将通过增强ESC中的Notch / Jagged1信号通路来促进伤口愈合和防止瘢痕形成。