Fibroblast-specific focal adhesion kinase links mechanical force to fibrosis via chemokine-mediated inflammatory pathways

ABSTRACT: Hypertrophic scar (HTS) formation is characterized by exuberant fibroproliferation for reasons that remain poorly understood1. One important but often overlooked component of wound repair is mechanical force, which regulates reciprocal cell-matrix interactions through focal adhesion components including focal adhesion kinase (FAK)1,2. Here we report that FAK is activated following cutaneous injury and that this activation is potentiated by mechanical loading. Transgenic mice lacking fibroblast-specific FAK exhibit significantly less fibrosis in a preclinical model of HTS formation. Inflammatory pathways involving monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a chemokine highly implicated in human skin fibrosis3, are triggered following FAK activation, mechanistically linking physical force to fibrosis. Further, small molecule inhibition of FAK effectively abrogates fibroproliferative mechanisms in human cells and significantly reduces scar formation in vivo. Collectively, these findings establish a molecular basis for HTS formation based on the mechanical activation of fibroblast-specific FAK and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of targeted mechanomodulatory strategies. Wildtype murine tissue was harvested at either day 6 or 14 post-injury following 48 hours or 10 days of mechanical loading, respectively (n=4 mice per group per time point). Murine RNA was isolated, labeled, and hybridized to the GeneChip microarray according to the manufacturer’s protocols (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA, USA). Each gene in the microarray was represented by 20 oligonucleotide pairs, with each pair consisting of an oligonucleotide perfectly matched to the cDNA sequence, and a second oligonucleotide containing a single base mismatch. Raw microarray data (sample intensity files) were processed using GeneSpring GX 11.0 (Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA).

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

SUBMITTER: Michael Januszyk 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-26390 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress