title: Extracellular matrix components of oral mucosa differ from skin and resemble that of foetal skin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Wounds of both the oral mucosa and early-to-mid gestation foetuses have a propensity to heal scarless. Repair of skin wounds in adults, however, regularly results in scar formation. The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in the process of healing. The fate of scarless or scar forming healing may already be defined by the ECM composition, prior to wounding. In this study, the presence of several ECM components in oral mucosa (palatum) and skin was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemical stainings of different ECM components were performed on skin, obtained from abdominal dermolipectomy surgery, and oral mucosa, derived after pharynx reconstruction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expression of fibronectin, its splice variant ED-A, and chondroitin sulphate was elevated in oral tissue, whereas elastin expression was higher in skin. Tenascin-C, hyaluronic acid, biglycan, decorin, and syndecan-1 were expressed at similar levels in both tissues. Oral mucosa contained more blood vessels than skin samples. Finally, oral keratinocytes proliferated more, while dermal keratinocytes demonstrated higher differentiation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comparing ECM components of the skin and oral mucosa coincides with differences earlier observed between foetal and adult skin, and this might indicate that some ECM components are involved in the mode of repair.
authors: Department of Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: je.glim@vumc.nl.
authors: Judith E
authors: JE
authors: Glim
authors: Department of Oral Cell Biology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam, Move Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Vincent
authors: V
authors: Everts
authors: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Frank B
authors: FB
authors: Niessen
authors: Department of Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Association of Dutch Burn Centres, Beverwijk, The Netherlands.
authors: Magda M
authors: MM
authors: Ulrich
authors: Department of Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Robert H J
authors: RH
authors: Beelen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058578:Biglycan / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000378:metabolism; D058575:Decorin / Q000378:metabolism; D004549:Elastin / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D053668:Syndecan-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D019063:Tenascin / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D058578:Biglycan; D015415:Biomarkers; D058575:Decorin; D005353:Fibronectins; D053668:Syndecan-1; D019063:Tenascin; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D004549:Elastin
keywords: Extracellular matrix; Oral mucosa; Scarless; Skin; Wound healing