title: Human galectins induce conversion of dermal fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and production of extracellular matrix: potential application in tissue engineering and wound repair.
abstract: Members of the galectin family of endogenous lectins are potent adhesion/growth-regulatory effectors. Their multifunctionality opens possibilities for their use in bioapplications. We studied whether human galectins induce the conversion of human dermal fibroblasts into myofibroblasts (MFBs) and the production of a bioactive extracellular matrix scaffold is suitable for cell culture. Testing a panel of galectins of all three subgroups, including natural and engineered variants, we detected activity for the proto-type galectin-1 and galectin-7, the chimera-type galectin-3 and the tandem-repeat-type galectin-4. The activity of galectin-1 required the integrity of the carbohydrate recognition domain. It was independent of the presence of TGF-β1, but it yielded an additive effect. The resulting MFBs, relevant, for example, for tumor progression, generated a matrix scaffold rich in fibronectin and galectin-1 that supported keratinocyte culture without feeder cells. Of note, keratinocytes cultured on this substratum presented a stem-like cell phenotype with small size and keratin-19 expression. In vivo in rats, galectin-1 had a positive effect on skin wound closure 21 days after surgery. In conclusion, we describe the differential potential of certain human galectins to induce the conversion of dermal fibroblasts into MFBs and the generation of a bioactive cell culture substratum.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Barbora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dvořánková
authors.forename: Pavol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szabo
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lacina
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gal
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Uhrova
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zima
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaltner
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: André
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Gabius
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sykova
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smetana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D037483:Galectin 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D037541:Galectin 4 / Q000378:metabolism; D037161:Galectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D053539:Keratin-19 / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D058628:Myofibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D037483:Galectin 1; D037502:Galectin 3; D037541:Galectin 4; D037161:Galectins; D053539:Keratin-19; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1