title: Influence of serum on adult and fetal dermal fibroblast migration, adhesion, and collagen expression.
abstract: The wound healing response to injury can be affected by many factors such as cell migration and extracellular matrix elaboration. The objective of this study was to examine the serum- and age-dependent effects on cell migration, adhesion, and collagen expression by skin fibroblasts. Dermal fibroblasts were isolated and plated with and without serum for up to 7 d. Cell migration was determined by quantitative image analysis, adhesion was quantified using a centrifugation assay, and collagen expression was assessed by PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Both adult and fetal fibroblasts migrated significantly faster in serum-containing medium compared to serum-free medium. There was no significant difference in migration between the two cell types in either serum-containing or serum-free medium. There was no significant difference in adhesion in the presence of serum, although there was a greater fraction of adherent fetal skin fibroblasts than adult fibroblasts in serum-free medium. Moreover, the adherent fraction of fetal fibroblasts in serum-free medium was not significantly different from that in serum-containing medium, suggesting that fetal skin fibroblasts possess serum-independent adhesion properties. Collagen mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated in serum-free compared to serum-containing medium for both cell types. With respect to collagen immunohistochemistry, both dermal fibroblast populations exhibited greater type I collagen compared to type III collagen staining. Quantitative assessment of collagen staining indicated significantly enhanced type I collagen secretion in the presence of serum by fetal skin fibroblasts. These findings suggest that intrinsic cellular characteristics may govern the observed differences in adult and fetal wound healing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Hallie E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Brink
authors.forename: Simone S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Stalling
authors.forename: Steven B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Nicoll
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002498:Centrifugation; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism*; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D011247:Pregnancy; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D044967:Serum / Q000502:physiology*; D012756:Sheep; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D003094:Collagen