[HTML][HTML] Fibromodulin is essential for fetal-type scarless cutaneous wound healing

Z Zheng, X Zhang, C Dang, S Beanes… - The American journal of …, 2016 - Elsevier
Z Zheng, X Zhang, C Dang, S Beanes, GX Chang, Y Chen, CS Li, KS Lee, K Ting, C Soo
The American journal of pathology, 2016Elsevier
In contrast to adult and late-gestation fetal skin wounds, which heal with scar, early-gestation
fetal skin wounds display a remarkable capacity to heal scarlessly. Although the underlying
mechanism of this transition from fetal-type scarless healing to adult-type healing with scar
has been actively investigated for decades, in utero restoration of scarless healing in late-
gestation fetal wounds has not been reported. In this study, using loss-and gain-of-function
rodent fetal wound models, we identified that fibromodulin (Fm) is essential for fetal-type …
In contrast to adult and late-gestation fetal skin wounds, which heal with scar, early-gestation fetal skin wounds display a remarkable capacity to heal scarlessly. Although the underlying mechanism of this transition from fetal-type scarless healing to adult-type healing with scar has been actively investigated for decades, in utero restoration of scarless healing in late-gestation fetal wounds has not been reported. In this study, using loss- and gain-of-function rodent fetal wound models, we identified that fibromodulin (Fm) is essential for fetal-type scarless wound healing. In particular, we found that loss of Fm can eliminate the ability of early-gestation fetal rodents to heal without scar. Meanwhile, administration of fibromodulin protein (FM) alone was capable of restoring scarless healing in late-gestation rat fetal wounds, which naturally heal with scar, as characterized by dermal appendage restoration and organized collagen architectures that were virtually indistinguishable from those in age-matched unwounded skin. High Fm levels correlated with decreased transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 expression and scarless repair, while low Fm levels correlated with increased TGF-β1 expression and scar formation. This study represents the first successful in utero attempt to induce scarless repair in late-gestation fetal wounds by using a single protein, Fm, and highlights the crucial role that the FM–TGF-β1 nexus plays in fetal-type scarless skin repair.
Elsevier