10.1021/acsnano.7b07439.s004 Weizong Weng Weizong Weng Sisi He Sisi He Hongyuan Song Hongyuan Song Xiaoqun Li Xiaoqun Li Liehu Cao Liehu Cao Yajie Hu Yajie Hu Jin Cui Jin Cui Qirong Zhou Qirong Zhou Huisheng Peng Huisheng Peng Jiacan Su Jiacan Su Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Reduce Hypertrophic Scar <i>via</i> Regulating Cell Behavior American Chemical Society 2018 gene expression microarray TGF β pathway cell proliferation chemical vapor deposition Regulating Cell Behavior Hypertrophic scars hypertrophic scar formation Aligned Carbon Nanotubes ACNT rabbit ear model carbon nanotubes 2018-07-24 00:00:00 Media https://acs.figshare.com/articles/media/Aligned_Carbon_Nanotubes_Reduce_Hypertrophic_Scar_i_via_i_Regulating_Cell_Behavior/6869591 Hypertrophic scars, characterized by excessive cell proliferation, disordered cell growth, and aberrant deposition of collagens, could cause significant clinical problems. Herein, aligned carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) were synthesized <i>via</i> chemical vapor deposition, and bulk ACNTs were pulled out from the arrays. The capacity of the ACNTs to reduce hypertrophic scar formation was evaluated both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. The results demonstrated that the ACNTs suppressed the overproliferation of fibroblast cells, directed their growth, and inhibited collagen expression <i>in vitro</i> without cell cytotoxicity. Moreover, <i>in vivo</i> evaluation in a rabbit ear model indicated relieved scar hypertrophy after the ACNTs treatment. The gene expression microarray was further used to understand the mechanism, which showed that ACNTs could inhibit the TGFβ pathway to alter the components in the extracellular matrix, cell proliferation, cell cytoskeleton, and cell motility. These findings may provide a potent strategy of using carbon nanotubes in the bioengineering field.