title: Differential expression of F-actin in in utero fetal wounds.
abstract: Fetal skin possesses the capacity to heal a wound by a process of regeneration rather than repair, resulting in the absence of scar formation. The actin cytoskeleton may be involved in this process of scar-free wound healing. The effect of wounding on the expression of contractile filamentous actin (F-actin) was investigated in utero in mice between embryonic day 16 (E16) and embryonic day 18 (E18). Increased F-actin staining in the epidermis of the E16 fetal wounds was observed as early as 3 hours post-wounding, peaking in intensity after 24 hours. By 48 hours the intensity of staining had returned to background levels. In marked contrast, E18 fetal wounds did not show increased epidermal F-actin fluorescence, instead increased staining was observed in cells lying perpendicular to the wound margin within the dermis. This developmental switch from epidermal actin expression in "scar-free" fetal wounds to dermal actin expression in late "scar-forming" gestation wounds may be important in fetal wound contraction and scar-free wound repair.
authors.affiliation: Child Health Research Institute, Women's and Children's Hospital, 72 King William Road, North Adelaide, SA, 5006, Australia. allison.cowin@adelaide.edu.au
authors.forename: Allison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cowin
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D049188:Prenatal Injuries; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins