Medline Industries, Inc. announced the launch of MatriStem Extracelluar Matrix Wound Sheet, a new wound care technology that acts as a microscopic scaffold to encourage wound healing. In the human body, the extracellular matrix is a key regulator of cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation during skin tissue repair. MatriStem, a parchment-like sheet made from specific layers of pig bladder, is a natural extracellular matrix that can be applied to the site of an injury or damaged skin in order to encourage the body's own capabilities to repair and restore tissue. "When there is a severe wound on the body, signals released by dead and dying cells trigger a host response that includes inflammation and the formation of scar tissue, which impedes the body's ability to perform site-specific tissue repair," said Thomas Gilbert, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and faculty member at The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "MatriStem facilitates wound healing by establishing an environment at the injury site that modulates the immune response and recruits a population of cells that are capable of healing the wound with new tissue instead of forming a scar." Placed in a wound bed, MatriStem provides a three-dimensional structural scaffold for cells and utilizes a specialized structure known as the basement membrane, which acts as a medium through which epithelial cells rebuild themselves. The MatriStem extracellular matrix facilitates wound healing by providing an environment to support replenishment of new tissue cells at the wound site. Wound care management of partial and full-thickness wounds such as diabetic, venous, arterial and pressure ulcers, surgical and trauma wounds, and first-and second-degree burns is costly and labor intensive. The MatriStem Extracellular Matrix Wound Sheet can be used for management of these conditions.