Hypertrophic scar (HTS) formation is characterized by exuberant fibroproliferation for reasons that remain poorly understood1. One important but often overlooked component of wound repair is mechanical force, which regulates reciprocal cell-matrix interactions through focal adhesion components including focal adhesion kinase (FAK)1,2. Here we report that FAK is activated following cutaneous injury and that this activation is potentiated by mechanical loading. Transgenic mice lacking fibroblast-specific FAK exhibit significantly less fibrosis in a preclinical model of HTS formation. Inflammatory pathways involving monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a chemokine highly implicated in human skin fibrosis3, are triggered following FAK activation, mechanistically linking physical force to fibrosis. Further, small molecule inhibition of FAK effectively abrogates fibroproliferative mechanisms in human cells and significantly reduces scar formation in vivo. Collectively, these findings establish a molecular basis for HTS formation based on the mechanical activation of fibroblast-specific FAK and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeted mechanomodulatory strategies.
Focal adhesion kinase links mechanical force to skin fibrosis via inflammatory signaling.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesLineage commitment during Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) differentiation is controlled not only by a gamut of transcription factors but also by epigenetic events, mainly histone deacetylation and promoter DNA methylation. Moreover, the DNA demethylation agent 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine (AzadC) has been widely described in the literature as an effective chemical stimulus used to promote cardiomyogenic differentiation in various stem cell types; however, its toxicity and instability complicate its use. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of zebularine, a stable and non-toxic DNA cytosine methylation inhibitor, on ESCs differentiation. Herein are the Affymetrix Expression data obtained from RNA of murine ESCs treated with zebularine.
Zebularine regulates early stages of mESC differentiation: effect on cardiac commitment.
Specimen part, Cell line, Treatment
View SamplesAffymetrix Human Gene 1.1 ST Array profiling of 285 primary medulloblastoma samples.
Subgroup-specific structural variation across 1,000 medulloblastoma genomes.
Sex, Age
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