Timed Epithelial Overlay Preserves Defect Closure While Suppressing Fibrotic Remodeling in Wound Microtissues

, suggesting a role for soluble epithelial-derived signals. Delayed overlay maintained fibroblast repopulation of the healed region and enabled effective epithelial coverage of the regenerated surface. Moreover, delayed overlay markedly suppressed myofibroblast differentiation and fibronectin accumulation across the microtissue, attenuating radial remodeling gradients. Together, these findings identify an approximate postwounding epithelial loading window that preserves closure efficiency while limiting scar-like remodeling. This platform provides a quantitative framework for optimizing epithelial-assisted wound therapies and evaluating antifibrotic interventions in engineered 3D wound microenvironments.