Keloid pathophysiology: fibroblast or inflammatory disorders?

Abstract

There is still no consensus as on what is the main driving cell to keloid formation. One may, however, hypothesize that keloid formation could be a result of an abnormal response to tissue injury, hence resulting in an exaggerated inflammatory state characterized by entry of excessive inflammatory cells into the wound, including macrophages, lymphocytes, and mast cells. These cells seem to release cytokines including transforming growth factor <i>β</i>1 that stimulate fibroblasts to synthesize excess collagen, which is a hallmark of keloid disease.