Intrinsic changes in cell differentiation and identity drive impaired wound healing in aged female murine skin.

ABSTRACT: Cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive a perturbed wound microenvironment and impaired healing in aged skin have not been fully delineated. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of cell-intrinsic changes acquired during ageing that impact early responses to injury, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing in young and aged intact female murine skin and wounds 3 days post-injury. We observed that substantial changes in the mean proportional distribution and transcriptomic state of skin resident subpopulations in aged, but not young, tissues accompany a global increase in basal inflammation. This is driven by an altered signalling environment leading to impaired keratinocyte differentiation, loss of fibroblast identity and defective macrophage function. Further, we show that ageing-in

SUBMITTER: Dube CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12579693 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature