TLDR SOX11 and SOX4 help skin cells act like embryonic cells to heal wounds in mice.
The study demonstrated that during wound repair in a mouse model, epidermal cells at the wound edge reverted to an embryonic-like state, significantly altering cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix components. SOX11 and SOX4 were identified as key regulators of this process, controlling genes related to epidermal development and cytoskeletal organization. Inducing SOX11 postnatally repressed epidermal differentiation, while deficiencies in SOX11 and SOX4 accelerated differentiation and impaired cell motility and re-epithelialization. The study highlighted fascin actin-bundling protein 1 (FSCN1) as a crucial target of SOX11 and SOX4, essential for cell migration, thus underscoring the importance of these factors in reactivating an embryonic gene program during wound repair.
143 citations
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May 2017 in “Nature cell biology” Wounded skin cells can revert to stem cells and help heal.
363 citations
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March 2017 in “Nature Communications” Stem cells help heal wounds by rapidly dividing and migrating to the wound edge.
321 citations
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March 2015 in “Nature” Super-enhancers controlled by pioneer factors like SOX9 are crucial for stem cell adaptability and identity.
55 citations
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June 2014 in “Nature Communications” Tcf3 helps cells move and heal wounds by controlling lipocalin 2.
829 citations
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May 2007 in “Nature” Hair follicles can regrow in wounded adult mouse skin using a process like embryo development.
132 citations
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August 2012 in “Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects” TGF-β signaling is crucial for stem cell maintenance, differentiation, and has implications for cancer treatment.
10 citations
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June 2021 in “EMBO reports” When skin blisters, healing the wound is more important than growing hair, and certain stem cells mainly fix the blisters without helping hair growth.
Reprogramming adult fibroblasts may enable scar-free healing.
April 2020 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” Skin healing from blisters can delay hair growth as stem cells focus on repairing skin over developing hair.
3 citations
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February 2021 in “bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)” Adult esophageal cells can start to become like skin cells, with a key pathway influencing this change.
