Human dermal reticular fibroblasts at confluence display a signature micro pattern in vitro

This paper sets out to demonstrate that scraping of the flat dorsal surface of human dermis with a scalpel blade and cell plating without centrifugation can lead to the recognition and identification of the individual packing micro pattern of dermal reticular fibroblasts at confluence. The characteristic alignment of papillary and reticular fibroblasts at right angles to each other led to the positive identification of reticular fibroblasts. A non-enzymatic means of sub-culturing (passaging), which yields fully functional, healthy cells with normal, phenotypic morphology is also described. Implications for published subcutaneous wound healing studies are discussed as well as the confluent reticular fibroblast configuration, interpreted as ananatomic site identity code,which may be the address of a specific fibroblast gene pattern expression.