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Research Article

Differential Expression of Wound Fibrotic Factors between Facial and Trunk Dermal Fibroblasts

, , , , &
Pages 349-354 | Received 31 Oct 2011, Accepted 10 Jan 2012, Published online: 24 Jul 2012
 

Abstract

Clinically, wounds on the face tend to heal with less scarring than those on the trunk, but the causes of this difference have not been clarified. Fibroblasts obtained from different parts of the body are known to show different properties. To investigate whether the characteristic properties of facial and trunk wound healing are caused by differences in local fibroblasts, we comparatively analyzed the functional properties of superficial and deep dermal fibroblasts obtained from the facial and trunk skin of seven individuals, with an emphasis on tendency for fibrosis. Proliferation kinetics and mRNA and protein expression of 11 fibrosis-associated factors were investigated. The proliferation kinetics of facial and trunk fibroblasts were identical, but the expression and production levels of profibrotic factors, such as extracellular matrix, transforming growth factor-β1, and connective tissue growth factor mRNA, were lower in facial fibroblasts when compared with trunk fibroblasts, while the expression of antifibrotic factors, such as collagenase, basic fibroblast growth factor, and hepatocyte growth factor, showed no clear trends. The differences in functional properties of facial and trunk dermal fibroblasts were consistent with the clinical tendencies of healing of facial and trunk wounds. Thus, the differences between facial and trunk scarring are at least partly related to the intrinsic nature of the local dermal fibroblasts.

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) KAKENHI 21689046 (Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists A) and 20390457 (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research B).

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no other competing financial interests.