Fig. 2

EPSC-Exos increased the wound healing rate and suppressed scar formation in a full-thickness skin-defect rat model. a Experimental procedure. The dorsal area of the rats was shaved under anaesthesia. Then, circular hole (12-mm diameter), full-thickness skin excisional wounds were made on the shaved skin. The rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 10/group): phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, negative control), epidermal growth factor (EGF, positive control, 10 μg), and EPSC-Exos (positive control; 10 μg). The rats were treated via local injection around the wound once a week for 4 weeks, and skin damage was recorded photographically every 7 days. b Overall morphological changes observed during the wound healing. Scale bar = 5 mm. c Changes in wound area during healing. **P < 0.01 compared with the control; ^##P < 0.01 compared with EGF; mean ± SD. Ctrl, control; EGF, epidermal growth factor; EPSC-Exos, epidermal stem cell-derived exosomes