Dongsheng Jiang1, Ruiji Guo1,2, Hans-Günther Machens2 and Yuval Rinkevich1 1Institute of Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 81377 Munich, Germany 2Department of Plastic and Hand Surgery, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany Correspondence: yuval.rinkevichhelmholtz-muenchen.de

Wound healing disorders are a societal, clinical, and healthcare burden and understanding and treating them is a major challenge. A particularly important cell type in the wound healing processes is the fibroblast. Fibroblasts are not homogenous; however, there are diverse functional fibroblast subtypes coming from different embryonic origins and residing in dispersed anatomic locations including distinct classes of fibroblasts at various skin depths. In this review, we discuss the implications of fibroblast heterogeneity, with a focus on the fundamental physiological functions of the fibroblast subtypes that govern wound repair and clinical degrees of healing. A better understanding of these diverse functional fibroblast populations will likely lead to novel therapies to enhance wound healing and inhibit excessive scarring.