title: A Comparative Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles during Skin Regeneration in Mus and Acomys.
abstract: The African spiny mouse (Acomys spp.) can heal full thickness excisional skin wounds in a scar-free manner with regeneration of all dermal components including hair and associated structures. Comparing Acomys scar-free healing from Mus scarring identifies gene expression differences that discriminate these processes. We have performed an extensive comparison of gene expression profiles in response to 8mm full-thickness excisional wounds at days 3, 5, 7 and 14 post-wounding between Acomys and Mus to characterize differences in wound healing, and identify mechanisms involved in scar-free healing. We also identify similarities with scar-free healing observed in fetal wounds. While wounding in Mus elicits a strong inflammatory response, wounding in Acomys produces a moderated immune response and little to no increase in expression for most cytokines and chemokines assayed. We also identified differences in the ECM profiles of the Acomys wounds, which appear to have a collagen profile more similar to fetal wounds, with larger increases in expression of collagen types III and V. In contrast, Mus wounds have very high levels of collagen XII. This data suggests that an overall lack of induction of cytokines and chemokines, coupled with an ECM profile more similar to fetal wounds, may underlie scar-free wound healing in Acomys skin. These data identify candidate genes for further testing in order to elucidate the causal mechanisms of scar-free healing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.|UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jason Orr
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Brant
authors.affiliation: UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.|Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Maria-Cecilia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.|Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Henry V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.|UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: W Brad
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Barbazuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.|UF Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D051189:Murinae / Q000235:genetics*; D012038:Regeneration / Q000235:genetics*; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D059467:Transcriptome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology