Application of “macromolecular crowding” in vitro to investigate the naphthoquinones shikonin, naphthazarin and related analogues for the treatment of dermal scars

Pathological scarring is an intractable problem for both patients and clinicians. A major obstacle for the development of scar remediation therapies is the paucity of suitable in vivo and in vitro models. The “Scar-in-a-jar” model was previously established by our colleagues based on the principle of “Macromolecular crowding”. This has been demonstrated to be an extracellular matrix-rich in vitro model offering a novel tool for studies related...