Impaired collagen gel contraction with cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with systemic sclerosis

While skin wounds heal by scarring, wounds of oral mucosa show privileged healing with minimal scar formation. Our hypothesis was that phenotypic differences between oral and skin fibroblasts underlie these differences in healing. The aims of this study were to compare MMP-3 expression by oral and skin fibroblasts and investigate a role for MMP-3 in mediating collagen gel contraction. Oral fibroblasts induced significantly greater gel contraction than did paired skin cells. Inhibition of MMP activity significantly inhibited gel contraction by both cell types. Specific inhibition of MMP-3 activity reduced gel contraction by oral, but not skin, fibroblasts. Oral fibroblasts produced significantly higher levels of MMP-3 than did skin fibroblasts at all levels studied. TGF-β1 and -β3 isoforms stimulated MMP-3 expression at mRNA, protein, and activity levels by both fibroblast populations. Results suggest that increased MMP-3 production by oral fibroblasts may underlie the differences in wound-healing outcome seen in skin and oral mucosa.

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FRI0417 Cd86 expression on cultured skin fibroblasts from systemic sclerosis patients: in vitro effects of ctla4-ig

10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-eular.5244 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

M. Cutolo ◽

P. Montagna ◽

S. Soldano ◽

A.C. Trombetta ◽

P. Contini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systemic Sclerosis ◽

Skin Fibroblasts ◽

Cultured Skin ◽

In Vitro Effects

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Electron Microscopy of Fibroblasts from Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy Patients

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100098976 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 498-499

Author(s):

S. E. Miller ◽

G. B. Hartwig ◽

R. A. Nielsen ◽

A. P. Frost ◽

A. D. Roses

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Muscular Dystrophy ◽

Genetic Diseases ◽

Skin Fibroblasts ◽

Inborn Errors ◽

Cytoplasmic Inclusions ◽

Cultured Skin ◽

Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy ◽

Glycosaminoglycan Metabolism

Many genetic diseases can be demonstrated in skin cells cultured in vitro from patients with inborn errors of metabolism. Since myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD) affects many organs other than muscle, it seems likely that this defect also might be expressed in fibroblasts. Detection of an alteration in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients would provide a valuable tool in the study of the disease as it would present a readily accessible and controllable system for examination. Furthermore, fibroblast expression would allow diagnosis of fetal and presumptomatic cases. An unusual staining pattern of MMD cultured skin fibroblasts as seen by light microscopy, namely, an increase in alcianophilia and metachromasia, has been reported; both these techniques suggest an altered glycosaminoglycan metabolism An altered growth pattern has also been described. One reference on cultured skin fibroblasts from a different dystrophy (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) reports increased cytoplasmic inclusions seen by electron microscopy. Also, ultrastructural alterations have been reported in muscle and thalamus biopsies from MMD patients, but no electron microscopical data is available on MMD cultured skin fibroblasts.

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